A Taste of Lonliness
by DubGee
Summary: Sometimes Loneliness can be the most sour taste of all.    If Mackenzie learns one thing in her first two years of Hogwarts, it's 'be careful what you wish for'
1. The day has Finally Come

_***I do NOT own Harry Potter (sadly) everything belongs to J.K Rowling, only the plot and the unfamiliar characters are mine, I am merely using J.K's awesomness for my inspiration.**_

_**A/N: I really hope you all enjoy my story, this is the first fan fiction I have written, it took me about 2-3 days to write the first 4 chapters and I sent them to my beta and I have just gotten them back today, I have written 10 chapters so far but only the first 4 have been beta'd so to give me time to write and beta the rest I will most likely only upload one chapter a week. I really hope you like it and I would love any feedback you give me.**_

_**ENJOY!**_

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><p>Mackenzie woke up to her older brother Adrian shaking her like mad, yelling her name. She opened her bright aqua green eyes and squinted at the bright sun streaming through her partially open curtains.<p>

"Ugh! Can't you just leave me alone Adrian!"

Her brother had always been the annoying type, and having a little sister who looked up to you and wanted to be just like you, and a mother who was so worried about you because of past events that she hardly even blinked around you in case she missed anything, she hardly ever got any time alone, to just be able to think. This was one of those times.

"Oh, she's awake, finally! I have been trying to wake you up forever. Good morning," Adrian said cheerfully, still shaking Mackenzie.

"It would have been a good morning if I wasn't woken up by my annoying older brother," replied Mackenzie with an annoyed tone, throwing her pillow at him. She absolutely hated being woken up.

"You should be happy, you got woken up by me you get to see my handsome face first thing," said Adrian. "Oh, something came for you this morning," he said with a hint of excitement in his voice. Mackenzie picked her head up off her bed and stared at her brother. When she saw his widened eyes and excited expression she plopped her head back down on the bed.

She turned her head to the side so she was looking at her brother.

"It's probably junk mail Ade" she replied using her brothers nickname,with a frown on her face, before hiding it in the soft mattress again.

Adrian was getting annoyed at his sister for not being excited about this day, especially because he knew she had been waiting for this particular letter for a long time, he was patiently waiting for her to realise it.

"No it's not junk mail," he teased, trying to coax her to lift her head up.

"It's from Hogwarts, something of Witchcraft and something-or-other," he said, knowing that this would catch her attention. He laughed when Mackenzie sat straight up with the biggest grin on her face.

"HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDY?" she screamed, causing Adrian to jump and nearly fall off the edge of the bed. Mackenzie snatched the letter out of Adrian's hand before he even realised what had happened, with a shocked look on his face at how fast she was. She tore open the envelope and starting reading.

"Dear Miss Robins," she read calmly, "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy!" she exclaimed, unable to remain calm with the amount of excitement she was trying to hold in.

She was reading the rest of the letter, but all Adrian could hear was excited mumbling and an "Oh My Goodness" here and there. He stood up and started walking out of the room, shaking his head at his sister's reaction, but when he got to the door Mackenzie jumped on him from behind tackling him to the hardwood floor.

"OW! Jeez Kenzie what are you trying to do? Kill me?"

Mackenzie just laughed it off and hugged her brother.

"Thanks Adrian," she said.

"No problem, now can you get off me so I can go downstairs and eat. I'm starving, waking you up takes a lot of effort you know," he replied jokingly.

She got off her brothers back, ran back into her room and jumped on her bed, landing on her back. She sighed in contentment. As she lay there she wondered what her life would be like now that she would be becoming a trained witch.

Mackenzie soon followed her brother and went downstairs. She was so happy that she didn't even realise that she was still wearing her pyjamas, or that her long bronze coloured hair looked like a birds nest.

"Good morning," she said to her mother Amanda, who was at the stove cooking more breakfast, and to her eight year old sister Ashley who was sitting at the table patiently waiting for her breakfast while watching Adrian stuff his face.

"I see you gave her the Hogwarts letter," Amanda said to Adrian, noticing the spring in her daughters step. Adrian just nodded too focused on stuffing his face full of food.

"You know, if you actually chewed the food Adrian it would taste a whole lot better," said Mackenzie's mother, causing her and Ashley to burst out into a fit of giggles. When she was finally able to stop laughing at her brother she turned and faced her mum.

"When can we go shopping for my school things?" she asked bouncing up and down in her seat. She only vaguely remembered Diagon Alley from the small trips when her brother needed to buy his things.

"We will go next week, when I have the day off work."

Mackenzie's mum worked in the Muggle department at the Ministry of Magic.

Mackenzie's face dropped when she heard she had to wait a full week to go and get her things. She wanted to go now. She would just have to bide her time and count down the days.


	2. The Twins

***I do NOT own Harry Potter the plot and Unfamiliar characters alone are mine. **

**R&R**

*** Pictures of Mackenzie's outfit are on my profile.**

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><p>The week following the day she received her letter was agonising. She counted down the days, spending her time imagining what her time would be like at Hogwarts and thinking about the treacherous wait she had ahead of her to finally get to Hogwarts.<p>

The day was finally here that she was going to get her things and she couldn't contain herself, she got out of bed super early in the morning, which was so unlike her. She showered and got dressed in her black skinny jeans, blue ballet flats, and a white singlet. She pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail, just the way she liked it, and bounded down the stairs to the kitchen.

She practically sang when she greeted everyone, "Good morning!"

"Morning Sissie," Ashely said. Ashley had called Mackenzie 'Sissie' ever since she could talk.

"Good morning sweetheart," replied Amanda.

"When can we go, Mum?" Mackenzie asked impatiently.

"When you have eaten something," replied her mother with seriousness in her voice. Mackenzie knew exactly why she used that tone of voice. Her father had died two years ago, and Mackenzie took it really hard; she stopped talking all together and didn't eat a thing. Now, whenever she said she wasn't hungry, people always forced her to eat, worried that she would go back into that no-eating pattern again. So she just ate to make her mother happy, and so she could finally get to Diagon alley.

"Alright Mum, I have eaten, can we go now please?" Kenzie pleaded with her mum.

"Okay then, go and get your letter and shopping list and we will go."

She quickly ran back upstairs, grabbed her list of things she needed for school, and ran back down the stairs, taking 3 at a time landing with a loud thud at the bottom. Her mother gave her a disapproving look for that, and in return Mackenzie gave an apologetic smile. They were going to apparate into Diagon Alley so she grabbed her mother's hand and before she knew it, her mother, sister and she were standing in the middle of Diagon alley.

She was getting overexcited and she didn't know where she wanted to go first. Her mother had told her that they didn't need to go to Gringotts because she already had some money with her.

"Why don't we go get your school robes first?" suggested Amanda, "That always takes the longest," she said with a roll of her eyes. So Mackenzie ran over to 'Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions'. When she got inside, there were a few students already being measured. A short middle aged woman came up to her and asked what she was in need of.

"I need school robes for Hogwarts," she replied excitedly. The woman smiled at her and led her over to a small platform where she would be measured.

Mackenzie realised that her mum had been right about it taking a while to get robes, so for the majority of the time she just daydreamed about Hogwarts and the people she would meet. The next thing she knew she was being told that her measurements were done and to collect her robes.

"Thank you," Mackenzie said politely to the lady as she was leaving the shop.

She met her mum outside, who suggested that they go get her books next, so they wandered over to Flourish and Blotts bookshop. Kenzie had always loved to read; anything that had words on it, you can bet it had been read by her, so she was amazed when she walked into the bookshop, looking up towards the roof where there were books and books, stacked right up to the top. She was in her own version of heaven. She looked at her list of books and quickly went and grabbed all she needed. When she had gotten everything she decided to wander around a little and see what books they had on offer. She was in the middle of reading a book about all the different magical creatures when she heard her mum calling her name.

"I'm coming mum!" she yelled loud enough for her mum to hear. She went back through the aisles looking for her mum, went to the counter, payed for her books and grabbed the brown packages in her hands.

"Where to next?" she asked curiously.

"Hmm, let's see, how about we go get your wand now?" Amanda asked. Mackenzie was excited about getting her wand, so she nodded crazily.

They walked into Ollivanders and there was already a family in there getting their wands. Kenzie saw that it was for two red haired identical twins. They hadn't noticed that she was behind them, and so when they were done, and turned to leave the store, one of them bumped into her, causing all of her books to spill out of her arms and onto the floor. She bent down to start picking her books up, and so did the red haired boy.

"Sorry about that," he said in a sweet little voice.

"Jeez George watch where you're going!" yelled his twin brother in a joking tone.

"Its fine I was standing too close," replied Mackenzie.

They finished picking up the books, and Mackenzie looked at the boy. When she did, she was entranced, she saw the most charming deep chocolate brown eyes. She had never been interested in boys, but this one suddenly got her attention.

"I'm Mackenzie Robins," she told him, offering her hand for him to shake, but pulling it away last minute as a joke.

"A joker like us, aye?" said the other brother.

"Come on boys," a short plump woman called over her shoulder, "It's time to go."

The boys ran to the door, bu the brown-eyed one turned around just before he walked out.

"I'm George, George Weasley," he said with a smile, before hurrying off to catch up with his family.

She walked over to the door, watching the large family walking away. In the distance Mackenzie could still hear the family and heard someone say, "Ooooh, Georgies got a girlfriend," in a teasing voice while laughing.

"Oh shut up, Fred," replied George. That's when she recognized that it must have been the other twin because she remembered the voice.

"At least he can get a girlfriend, Freddy boy," Mackenzie yelled out the door to the boy. Both of the twins laughed hysterically at that.

"I think that one's a keeper, George," said Fred, smiling. George pushed his brother so hard he ended on the other side of the street.

"You wait till we get home; I'll get you back for that one."

Mackenzie couldn't help but laugh at them, as she turned and walked back in to the store.


	3. Am I Or Am I Not?

*** I do NOT own Harry Potter, the plot and unfamiliar characters alone are mine.**

*** Please give me some reviews guys I would love to know what you think of my story, being my first fan-fiction I know it won't be perfect so I would love your tips and advice.**

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><p>"Hello my dear," said an old man with barely any hair. What hair he did have was white and whispy.<p>

"Hello Sir," she smiled back politely.

"No need to call me Sir, dear child." The old man got a look on his face that suggested he was thinking hard about something.

"Oh I have a couple of ideas that would suit you real well. I'll be right back," he said before walking off down the longest aisle Mackenzie had seen.

Whilst waiting, Mackenzie took a look around the strange looking wand shop. It was very dimly lit in here, which made it difficult to see anything that was more than 5 metres away. She did notice, though, that there were rows and rows of narrow boxes stacked up awkwardly from floor to ceiling, containing what Mackenzie guessed were different kinds of wands.

She was thinking about the possibilities of which one would be her wand, when the old man, who she assumed was the owner Mr. Ollivander, walked back to the dusty, old counter.

"Here we are," he said, dropping a few boxes on the counter, causing the dust to fly up into the air, and causing Mackenzie to sneeze multiple times.

"Sorry about that my dear, I guess this place needs to be cleaned up a little," he chuckled, whilst passing her the first wand, "Now this wand is a Rowan with Unicorn core 3 ¾ Inches slightly yielding. Give it a wave and see how we go" Mackenzie took the wand from Mr. Ollivander's wrinkled, shaking hands and gave it a small flick. The papers on the counter started blowing everywhere, causing the dust to pick up again, and in turn causing Mackenzie to have another sneezing attack. Once all the papers had stopped flying around, Mr. Ollivander took the wand from her hands.

"Never mind, plenty more options here. Let's try this one. Now this one is Sycamore with Dragon heartstring core 12 ½ inches, slightly springy," he said while handing it to her. This time, when she gave it a small flick, all the books from the shelves behind the counter fell to the ground with loud thuds.

"Well I guess that one isn't right either," he said, raising his bushy white eyebrows, before looking at the wands that were left. He picked one up and handed it to Kenzie.

"This is Vine with dragon heartstring core 13 inches, hard."

Mackenzie gave it a quick wave and hoped that this would be the one. She was starting to worry that maybe her letter and acceptance to Hogwarts was all some mean and silly joke someone was playing on her. Yet once again this wasn't her wand; this time all the light bulbs smashed to little bits, all over the old, dusty wooden floorboards.

"Now, now don't worry," Mr. Ollivander said with a kind smile.

"We will find you a wand. We haven't tried this one yet," he said hopefully, looking into Mackenzie's sad, hopeful eyes.

"Now, this, this one right here, has a rare core, this wand is a redwood, with Phoenix feather core 14 ½ inches, solid," he said with a smile, and hope that his mentioning of the rareness would lift up Mackenzie's spirits.

Mackenzie reluctantly took the wand from Ollivander with a huge sigh, assuming that this wand wouldn't work either and that her worst fears would be proved true. She gave it a wave, and at first nothing happened. Mackenzie felt on the verge of tears, and felt like running out of the shop in embarrassment. However, something finally did happen, the wand in her hand caused a glow, and she got a tingly feeling in her hand. She looked up at Mr Ollivander in hopes that this was a good sign, and saw that he had a huge smile on his face.

"The wood used in this wand shows a great deal about your personality: You are a strong person, and always make the right choices. The Phoenix core wands are very picky with who they choose! You are a lucky girl, young lady, and I can tell you are going to be a great witch," he said with a large grin on his face.

Mackenzie wasn't so sure about the great witch part, but she smiled and nodded appreciatively, thanked him nevertheless, and walked out of Ollivander's dusty old wand shop with a satisfied smile. By the time they had finished getting the rest of her school supplies from the various shops in Diagon Alley, all three ladies were feeling hungry, so they went to get some ice-cream before apparating back to their home.

When they got home Mackenzie flew up the stairs still carrying the stuff she had bought today, and started packing everything into her trunk. When she was done putting her things away she plopped onto her soft bed and drifted off to sleep thinking about the strange red haired boy in Ollivander's.

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><p><strong>R&amp;R :) ~DubGee<strong>


	4. The Long Awaited Journey

***I do NOT own Harry Potter, the plot and unfamiliar characters alone are mine**

*** Well it's Monday again so you know what that means? yep another update! I hope you like it please review I would love to get your feedback on my story.**

*** Pictures for Mackenzie's outfit are on my profile.**

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><p>The last month had been horribly long for Mackenzie, she was so eager to get to Hogwarts, and time went so slow. She spent her time doing the random bits of magic that she already had. It was finally September 1st, and she woke up, and walked over to her window opening the curtains. It was still dark but she was too excited to go back to sleep now.<p>

She started reading her school book to waste time until it was a decent hour for her to go downstairs. Not that she needed to read them again; she had read them multiple times since she purchased them, and practically knew them all word for word.

"Hurry up and be 11:00am already," she mumbled to herself.

"A bit eager to go are we?" laughed Adrian, who was standing in her bedroom doorway.

"Yes! As if I haven't been waiting long enough already, the day finally comes and one minute feels like one hour!" replied Mackenzie with a frown on her face and a frustrated sigh. She slammed the book shut and threw it back in her trunk with the rest of her school things, hearing her potions equipment clanking together and hoping they didn't break.

She got back up off the bed and looked at her brother in a way that said 'get out'. He just stood there, causing Mackenzie to raise her eyebrows.

"Um Adrian? Do you mind?" She asked, while making a shooing gesture with her hands.

Still no reply.

"Adrian!" she exclaimed.

This time she finally got a response.

"What? Oh! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," he said.

"I could tell," Mackenzie replied with a roll of her eyes.

Adrian turned around and left, closing the door behind him.

Mackenzie got changed into her black skinny jeans, grey and white striped, off the shoulder t-shirt and her blue and white Nike dunks. She put her hair into a simple ponytail, took one look at herself in the mirror, silently hoped that this outfit was appropriate, and walked downstairs.

Everyone was already at the table eating, so she sat down on the hard wooden chair and started eating as well. Which made her mother happy.

"Are you all packed Mackenzie?" asked her mother.

Before Mackenzie even had a chance to reply, Adrian answered, "Are you kidding mum? She's had her things packed ever since the day you got her things."

"Oh shut up Adrian!" Mackenzie retorted, giggling.

When they had all finished eating, they got their stuff together and crammed themselves into the car, squashed in with their trunks.

Kings Cross Station was a lot more packed than Mackenzie had expected. She was having a hard time pushing the trolley while weaving in and out of the muggles packing the station.

She was so focused on where she was going that she didn't realise that her family had stopped in front of the barrier and she rammed her trolley into the back of Adrian's ankles.

"OW! Jeez, Mackenzie," he said with a pained look on his face. while rubbing the back of his ankle.

"Oops," she said with a satisfied smile. 'Payback for breakfast,' she thought to herself, trying not to laugh.

The family ran through the barrier one by one, Mackenzie being the first. She had closed her eyes just before the wall, worried that it wouldn't work for her. She sighed in relief when she opened her eyes and saw the sign for Platform 9 3/4 . She looked around and saw the most amazing steam train she had ever seen. It was red and black, and had gold letters on the front spelling 'The Hogwarts Express'. That's when her mother came through the barrier, followed by Ashley and Adrian.

The loud whistle of the train blew, causing Mackenzie to jump and Ashley to cover her ears.

"Oh shoot" said her mother "five minutes until the train leaves! If those muggles hadn't been in our way we would have had more time," she said in an annoyed voice, trying to hurry Mackenzie up by pulling her along.

She was walking down the platform when she spotted the red-haired twins she had met in Diagon Alley.

Their younger sister was crying.

"Oh don't cry Ginny, it's going to be boring" said the first brother.

"Yeah we're only going to be giving people candy that will give them boils everywhere, and harassing teachers, all that boring stuff, right Fred?" said the second in a tone that Mackenzie was guessing was supposed to be a bored one.

"Boys!" exclaimed the same plump, red-haired woman she had seen that day in Diagon Alley. "You will do no such thing."

"Oh, come on mum, we were only joking," said the first.

"Yeah, we wouldn't actually do any of that stuff," said the second, while both were crossing their fingers behind their backs, trying not to laugh and give themselves away. Mackenzie couldn't help but laugh at their poor attempts at lying to their mother.

"I mean it you two, if I get one owl, ONE, you will be brought straight back home," she said all in one breath, pointing her finger at them in warning.

"No blowing things up either," she added.

The train whistle blew again and Mackenzie hurried onto the first carriage she saw. She ran to the nearest window and waved furiously at her mother, who Mackenzie could tell was trying hard not to cry.

When the train left the station and they were out in the open, she walked further down and found an empty carriage. She sat down and stared out of the huge window watching the countryside blur past.

She heard the compartment door open and then someone yelled, "Hey George, there's one here". She recognised the voice and turned her head toward the door.

"Oh! It's you, the future joke star, the one from the wand shop," stated the boy that must have been Fred, with an amused grin.

"I wouldn't go that far," replied Mackenzie, laughing and nodding.

That's when the other brother came in.

"Oh come on, your comeback was brilliant!" he said.

Mackenzie blushed and she wasn't sure why. The train ride was uneventful, however, towards the end she actually listened to the twins' conversation.

"So, Fred, what mischief can we get up to?" asked George.

"So many options Georgie, so many options," replied the other, rubbing his hands together in a mischievous way.

Mackenzie couldn't help but laugh, not matter how hard she tried to hold it in. The boys noticed and looked at her, smiling.

"Sounds like someone will get a kick out of our fun," said Fred. "I think she likes us, George"

"Oh yeah? And how do you know that exactly? Can you read her mind?" replied George in a teasing tone.

"Of course I can Georgie boy, I'm a genius!" Fred slapped his brother on the back hard causing him to grunt from the force.

"You can be our sidekick and join in the fun. What do you say?" asked Fred.

Mackenzie pretending to be thinking real hard about it, tapping her chin as the boys waited excitedly for her answer.

"I'll have to think about it," she told them. "I will have to determine whether your jokes and pranks are awesome enough for me to take part in"

The brothers started laughing.

"I think we are going to have a great friendship, Mackenzie," they said in perfect unison.

Now that the twins had started talking to her and telling her their ideas for pranks, the train ride went really fast. Before she knew it they were being told to change into their robes and being lead off the train, and onto the platform at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy.


	5. First Glimpse

**I do NOT own Harry Potter, the plot and unfamiliar characters alone are mine.**

**This is my first fan-fiction I know it won't be perfect so I would love your tips and advice please review.**

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><p>Mackenzie stepped out onto the platform and was looking up and down the train watching all the students getting off.<p>

"Alrigh' firs years, gather round 'ere if yeh will! I'm Hagrid and I'll be the one leadin' yeh to the boats an' the castle," she heard someone bellow. She turned around and saw the most gigantic man she had ever seen. He easily towered over every student that was there. He was wide around the middle and wore dull brown clothing and he had the most tangled black beard and shoulder length hair she had ever seen.

"Righ', now I need yeh all teh follow me to the boats tha' are waitin' for us at the lake."

He turned around and all the first years started to follow, all with curious and nervous looks. It was fairly dark out so it made certain things hard to see, and all they had for light was a small lantern.

They got to the lake and saw at least a dozen row boats.

"Now, I need three or four student's teh each boat"

Mackenzie didn't even have a chance to look around before she was being dragged towards a boat.

"Come on Mackenzie, you're coming with us!" said George while tugging her towards the boat. Her eyes widened at this.

"What? Oh no! If I get in that boat, you two will probably do something to make me fall out," she said while shaking her head. They were pulling her along so hard that she almost tripped over.

"Oh come on, would we do something like that?" asked Fred.

"Umm, yes, you would," Mackenzie said, in a tone which applied that this was obvious.

"Well, yeah, I guess we would!" they admitted, looking at each other and nodding.

"But this time we won't," said Fred.

"Promise!" they said together, stopping long enough to give her an innocent smile.

She wasn't going to win this one, so she just gave up letting them pull her along. Of course, they chose the boat that was the furthest away.

They finally got to their boat, and Mackenzie was a bit worried about the boat rocking on the water. She was just about to step on to the boat carefully when she got lifted up.

"Jeez guys!" she exclaimed, clutching her chest before being placed back on her feet. She sat down at the front and wiped a few stray strands of her bronze coloured hair from her face. The boys sat down roughly, causing the boat to rock. Mackenzie turned around and gave them a serious warning look. She could see that they were about to do it again, and she widened her piercing bright aqua green eyes just daring them to do it.

"Jeez, Robins, you can be scary when you want to be," stated George. Mackenzie turned back around, smiling at herself, satisfied.

The boats started moving without even needing anything or anyone to help them along. She could hear the twins talking about the stories their older brother told them about Hogwarts. Mackenzie was too fascinated by her surroundings to really pay attention; she leaned over the side of the boat and let her fingers glide over the black surface of the lake. Soon enough, the Hogwarts castle had started coming into view.

It was so amazing. Everyone was awestruck, even the twins had stopped talking. The castle was huge and had a dark, old look about it. Many towers at different heights protruded from every section of the castle. There were a few lights on causing a golden glow in some of the windows scattered around the castle walls.

The boats stopped in a boat house, and once all the first years were out of the boats, the man that introduced himself as Hagrid continued to lead the students towards the castle.

They got to the huge doors and were taken into the entrance hall, which had huge paintings that moved, covering the walls. They were met by a middle-aged Witch who was wearing all-emerald green robes.

"Right, first years come here please," the woman requested, "Thank you Hagrid".

"Okay, welcome first years. I am Professor McGonagall, head teacher of Gryffindor house and head of the subject of Transfiguration. Before you take your seat inside the Great Hall you must first be sorted into one of the four school houses. Those houses are Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor."

She then continued to inform the students of the sorting process.

"Please wait here until I come back and get you"

Professor McGonagall proceeded to walk through another huge door. The students started talking excitedly about what house they would be in.

"What house do you think you'll be in?" asked one of the twins. She was distracted by the many moving paintings, so she wasn't exactly sure which of them had asked her.

"Umm, I don't really know. I mean, my brother is in Gryffindor but we are nothing alike," she admitted, still looking around distractedly. The students continued to stand there waiting nervously and excitedly.

After a few moments the same professor came back out into the entrance hall to address the students again.

"We are ready, follow me please," and the students followed her. Mackenzie took a few deep breaths preparing herself for what would come next. It was time for the verdict.

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><p><strong>Hope you like it :) ~DubGee<strong>


	6. Brave, Ambitious, Loyal, or Intelligent?

***Hey lovelies I just have a few things to say before we get on with the story  
><strong>

1. Apologies for the delayed update but I haven't had internet for about 2 weeks now so I will be uploading both chapter 6 and 7.  
>2. I wanted to incorporate Mackenzie's birthday into the story later but it was already her birthday in chapter 1 so I made a few changes to the first chapter and you can go ahead and read it again.<p>

3. I do NOT own Harry Potter

Okay i'll shush now. Enjoy!

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><p>Mackenzie was really anxious about the sorting. She hadn't really thought about it until the twins brought it up. Her brother was in Gryffindor, but she was totally different to her brother, so she didn't know where she belonged. She looked around at all the other nervous faces of her fellow first years, glad that she wasn't the only one.<p>

Mackenzie followed behind all the other first years. When she walked through the huge doors to the Great Hall, she was in awe.

Hundreds of candles were floating in the air; the roof looked like a night sky with its dark blue colour and hundreds of stars. There was a long table up on a stage, and seated there were the teachers of the many subjects taught at Hogwarts. Some looked intimidating, some looked weird and others looked perfectly normal. She was hoping the teachers here weren't too bad.

Right in the middle of the table was an old man with half-moon spectacles and a long silver beard, that looked like it touched the floor when he was standing. He was seated in a magnificent high backed chair. He looked very wise.

'That must be the headmaster,' Mackenzie thought to herself. They were half way down the aisle when Mackenzie tore her gaze from the teachers and took a look around the rest of the room. What she saw were the faces of the many other students, who were watching them with great curiosity and excitement. She spotted her brother at what must have been the Gryffindor table, and he gave her an encouraging smile.

They got to the edge of the stage, and the Professor that had brought them in here pulled out a long piece of parchment and started reading names. The first student that was called up was a boy named Jon Bartes. The boy walked nervously up to the stool, and when he was seated an old ratty looking hat was placed on his head. There was a minute of silence before the hat yelled out,

"SLYTHERIN!" and the table on the far left started cheering and clapping. The next few students went up, and two more students had been sorted into Slytherin and two in Gryffindor. The next student was called up, and this time is was a girl named Angelina Johnson, who was sorted into Gryffindor also. By the time it was Mackenzie's turn, 3 more students were put into Ravenclaw and 1 into Hufflepuff.

"Robins, Mackenzie!" called out the Professor. Mackenzie's breath caught, and she was suddenly more nervous than she had ever been before. She stood there frozen with nerves, when she felt two hands pat her on the back. She turned around and saw the twins smiling at her, telling her to go up and giving her a much needed nudge. She slowly walked up and sat on the stool, seeing all the faces peering at her in anticipation as to what house she would go into.

She sat there for a few seconds and didn't hear anything. Then a voice started speaking to itself, causing Mackenzie to jump in surprise. She thought that was odd because she hadn't heard the hat speaking with the other students, apart from when it stated what house they were in. She sat there getting more and more nervous as the hat spoke.

"Hmm, a very complex mind: A pure soul, you have a thirst for knowledge, and you feel that you need to prove yourself to everyone around you; You have an enormous amount of strength in you. Very intelligent girl, you would do well in Ravenclaw, however your loyalty and trustworthiness overtakes that, so I think you will do better in...Hufflepuff!" hollered the hat.

The hat was taken off her head, and she jumped off the stool and ran over to the table that was on the far right, and was welcomed by an onslaught of cheers and congratulating.

The next student that was called up was a girl named Jessica Twyst, who skipped up onto the stage full of confidence and sat on the stool. The hat was placed on her head, and soon enough it shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Mackenzie was glad that there was another Hufflepuff student. After Jane's sorting, two more students were put into Hufflepuff. It got to the twins' turn, and Mackenzie was eager to know which house they would be in. They went up one by one, and they were both put into Gryffindor. This was a bit of a downer for Mackenzie, considering they were the only two people, besides her brother, that she knew here. As they were walking past her to get seated, they whispered in her ear in unison, "Don't worry, you're still our new recruit."

She shook her head, but sighed in relief at the fact they she still had friends here. She turned around and continued watching the last few students getting sorted.


	7. The Commons

The sorting was over, and Mackenzie was relieved because she was absolutely starving. Before they could eat, though, the headmaster wanted to say a few words.

"Welcome to yet another year at Hogwarts, and a special welcome to our first years. I, along with your teachers, hope you have a very productive first year and enjoy all your classes."

Mackenzie heard the twins mumble,

"Yeah right," and had to try really hard not to burst out into a fit of giggles.

"Well, I'm a man of few words, so I guess that is all. Oh! And remember; never tickle a sleeping dragon," he said in a serious tone, causing Mackenzie to question his sanity.

"Enjoy the feast," and with one wave of his hands, plates and plates of food appeared on the table. Mackenzie's eyes almost bugged out of her head when she saw all the different kinds of food she could eat. She was starving, so she dug right in.

A few hours later, the feast was over and they were taken to their dorms by their house prefects.

"Okay Hufflepuffs, I am Gabriel Truman and I am one of your Hufflepuff prefects. While I show you to our commons, I will tell you a bit about our house. So, if you would follow me, please," and the boy turned around and starting leading them out of the Great Hall.

The Gryffindors were led upstairs, while Hufflepuff were led downstairs. The twins tickled Mackenzie as they walked past her, scaring her at the same time, before running off to catch up with the rest of their house, laughing hysterically.

As they were walking down the many staircases, going deeper and deeper into the basements of Hogwarts, they were being told a few things about their house.

Gabriel, the house prefect, would turn around to face the students every now and then.

"Our head of house is Professor Sprout, and she is also the head teacher of the subject Herbology, so expect to see a few strange things in the commons," he laughed jokingly.

"Us Hufflepuff's are generally underestimated, but we have had our fair share of amazing wizards and witches, such as Newt Scamander, Grogan Stump, who was one of the most popular Minister's for Magic, and Bridget Wenlock, who is an incredibly famous arithmancer," he continued.

"I actually got in trouble for duelling a Ravenclaw prefect in my third year, because he was trying to say that Wenlock was a Ravenclaw. Our house ghost is the Fat-Friar, you will recognise him easily, he's plump and wears robes similar to that of something a monk would wear."

He continued leading them through corridors and they ended up at a painting that was near the kitchens. There was a large stack of barrels, and to get access to the common room Gabriel had to tap on a certain barrel.

"Now, you must remember exactly which barrel to tap and you MUST tap it in the rhythm of 'Helga-Hufflepuff,' otherwise you will get soaked in vinegar," explained the boy.

The barrel lid swung open, and a cosy room with a low celing, windows that were at the outside ground level, allowing them to see the bright green blades of grass and dandelions, black and yellow wall hangings and soft looking armchairs was revealed.

The prefect continued to explain to them the inner workings of the house and different areas in the commons.

"There are two tunnels over there, one will lead to the boys dormitory and the other will lead to the girls. I hope you have a fantastic day tomorrow. I'm sure you will make us proud," and he walked off.

Mackenzie used this opportunity to look around some more. There were a lot of plants everywhere in the common room, some were even talking and dancing.

"I see what he means about the strange things," stated a girl that was standing behind Mackenzie.

"Hi, I'm Jessica, Jessica Twyst," she said, offering Mackenzie her hand. Mackenzie shook her hand and smiled back, vaguely remembering seeing this girl being sorted.

"Hi, I'm Mackenzie Robins," she replied.

That was all the introduction the girls needed to get really talking. They sat in the overstuffed armchairs, chatting all night in front of the fireplace before heading off to bed.

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><p><strong>Hey guys!<strong>

**I would love some R&R please guys! I'm not getting many reviews or alerts so let me know if i should keep posting the story or not. Thanks for reading I hope you're enjoying it. Next chapter will be up next Monday lovelies! **

**~DubGee.**


	8. A Not So Good First Day

Mackenzie woke up really early in preparation for her first day of classes. She got out of her bed and walked over to her trunk to get her school robes out. She found what she needed and got changed. She brushed her birds nest of a hair so it was back to its original perfectly straight style. She decided to leave it out today instead of putting it in its usual ponytail.

She sat back down on her bed which was next to Jessica's, the girl she had met last night. The other girls had started getting up and ready, so Mackenzie walked back through the tunnels and into the common room, which was practically empty. She exited through the barrel-lid and made her way upstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast.

She finally got into the hall and sat down at the table. She looked down at the food and decided that she was too nervous to eat right now. She sat there daydreaming as the hall started filling up with students. Professor Sprout had come into the hall and started giving out the Hufflepuff students their timetables.

Mackenzie took hers and found out that she had History of Magic with Gryffindors first. Seeing as she wasn't eating she had decided to go to the library for a while until it was time for class. She got to the library and was amazed at the books, she grabbed a random one and sat at a random table and started reading. A group of Slytherin boys walked past and laughed at her "what a nerd" one of them mumbled. She put the book away and walked back to the commons to get her books.

She had a hard time walking up the many steps while carrying her books for the subjects she had before lunch.

She got lost trying to find the History of Magic classroom. She stopped in her tracks and looked around nervously; she hated being lost.

"A bit lost my dear?" she heard suddenly, causing her to jump. She turned around and saw the Fat-Friar, the Hufflepuff ghost.

"Umm, yeah, a bit. I can't find the History of Magic classroom," she admitted, embarrassed.

"No need to worry, I'll show you the me," replied the ghost, happily.

He started leading her in the opposite direction that she had come in, and they finally got to the classroom. Luckily, there were only a few students in there and that she wasn't late.

"Thank you so much," she said to the ghost, gratefully, "You're a life saver."

"Not a problem," the ghost said before drifting away.

She walked into the classroom and walked to the second row of desks from the front. She slammed her books down onto the desk, accidentally causing the few students to look at her in an odd way.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

At the moment she sat down, two students came barrelling into the room. She turned around and rolled her eyes when she realised it was, of course, the twins.

"Phew! Thought we were late," said Fred.

"Mackenzie!" they shouted. Mackenzie blushed embarrassed smiling at them in return.

"Hi guys," she told them in a small voice.

They walked to the row she was in and sat down next to her. At that moment the professor came into the classroom. The thing is, though, he came in through the wall! This teacher was a ghost?

'How odd,' Mackenzie thought to herself.

"Hello students, I am professor Binns and this is History of Magic. I really hope you enjoy this subject as much as I do."

"Oh, come on professor, are you sure you like this subject?" interrupted Fred.

"Yeah, it sounds pretty boring to me already," added George.

"Yes, I do like this subject. It is, in fact, very interesting and important," retorted the teacher.

"Oh, come on sir, we can see right through you!" George said.

Mackenzie was shocked that they would say something like that, especially to someone they could actually see straight through, but she could not stop herself from giggling a bit. It was pretty funny.

"That is unacceptable behaviour," grunted the professor, with a very annoyed tone of voice, "10 points from Gryffindor, and 5 from Hufflepuff," he huffed and turned around to begin the lesson.

Mackenzie was shocked that he took points away from her for nothing; she wasn't even involved in the joke. She turned towards the twins.

"Thanks a lot, guys," she said.

George looked apologetic, but Fred was smiling from ear to ear.

"No problem, Robins," he said happily.

The subject was actually really interesting to Mackenzie. She listened to the teacher the whole time. She had read her textbook so many times that whenever the professor asked a question she was the first to answer.

The lesson was over, and Mackenzie was walking up the stairs talking to the twins when someone threw a book at her head, hard enough to give her an instant headache. The book fell to the floor and Mackenzie turned around, rubbing the back of her head. She saw a group of boys standing a few steps down laughing. The twins had also turned around

"Oi! What was that for you stupid git!" George shouted.

"Oh, give it up, Weasley, why are you defending that little bookworm? She'll only ditch you for her books, anyway, the nerd was in the library studying before class had even started" the boy retorted. This was when Mackenzie realised it was the same group of boys that laughed at her in the library.

"And so what if she does? That gives you no right to throw a book at her," George defended angrily.

"Guys, don't worry about it," said Mackenzie, "let's just go."

She turned around and continued walking up the stairs, trying hard to keep the tears from falling.

She had Transfiguration with Ravenclaw next and that went without a problem; It was a fascinating subject.

It was lunch next, so she walked to the Great Hall. When she got in there she started walking to the table, and she saw the boy who had thrown the book at her. She ignored him, not giving him the satisfaction of knowing that he had really hurt her. She couldn't see the twins anywhere in the room, so she finished up eating and went back to the common room to grab her books for the second half of the day.

She had just walked up the stairs when she spotted the twins.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading lovelies I hope you're enjoying it, the story will get better I just needed to get the background stuff out first. Pleas R&amp;R I really appreciate your opinions.<strong>

**~DubGee**


	9. The Brilliant Idea

"Mackenzie! There you are. We've been looking for you everywhere," they said, slightly out of breath.

"Well here I am," she said flatly.

"Hey, we are going to play a prank on that kid who threw the book at you, you should get in on it too," they said, excited at the idea.

"I don't know, guys, I really shouldn't cause any trouble with this guy. He might get worse," she argued.

"Oh, please, Mackenzie!" Fred begged.

George: "Please"

Fred: "Please"

George: "Pretty please"

Fred: "Pretty pretty please"

George: "Please with...," he paused.

"Umm, what's your favourite candy?" he asked curiously.

Mackenzie laughed and rolled her eyes dramatically, thinking about how goofy they were.

"Uumm, that's a tough one," she said thinking hard. She had never thought so hard about candy before.

" I would have to say Bertie Botts Beans. No, wait! Fizzing Whizbees. No! Licorice wands," she said, nodding.

"Ooookay," he said strangely.

"Pretty please with ten boxes of Bertie Botts Fizzing licorice whizbee wands on top?" George exclaimed.

"Guys, stop shouting," she laughed.

"Come on, Zee, please," begged Fred.

"Zee? Where did that come from?" she asked, amused.

"It's a nickname. Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Mackenzie said, laughing.

"See, George, I told you she would like it," said Fred proudly.

"Okay, you win, I'll give you the two Galleons later," George said, disappointed that he lost the bet.

'They made a bet about my name?' Mackenzie wondered. She had never heard of someone betting on a name before, but betting on everything was the norm for these two.

"Come on," pleaded Fred once again, returning to their attempts to get her to join in their prank.

"Pleeeeaseee!" the twins said in perfect unison, looking desperate.

She hesitated at first. She couldn't attract any more attention from that guy.

"Oh, okay, okay, I'll do it. You guys are giving me a headache," Mackenzie said, giving in to their pleading, and rubbing her temples.

"Yes!" they shouted together, followed by a hi-5.

"Do you always talk in turn like that?" she wondered out loud.

Fred: "Yep"

George: "Pretty much"

She turned around, shaking her head. She continued down the stairs to get to potions in the dungeons, wondering why they even bothered with her.

"Zee, where are you going?" Fred asked.

"Umm, to class," she said, pointing down the stairs, thinking that it was obvious that that's where she was going.

"This is a school, remember?" she laughed

"Oh yeah," they said, once again in perfect unison.

"Well, we better get a move on, Fred, or we'll get another detention!"

"You got detention in your second class of the year?" she asked incredulously.

"Yep, it really wasn't our fault though," defended Fred.

"Hmm, now why don't I believe you?" she said sceptically, not believing that statement for one second.

The twins mocked utter shock.

"It honestly wasn't," Fred said, trying to convince her.

"Cross our hearts," George said, while both of them made a cross sign over their chests, "and hope to die," they said together.

"Alright, you are going to make me late," she said with a roll of her eyes, turning and continuing down the stairs.

"See you later Zee!" Fred yelled from the top of the stairs.

Mackenzie didn't turn around or stop, she just kept walking and gave them a quick wave over her shoulder.

'What have I gotten myself into?' she thought to herself. Never the less, she walked down the dimly lit corridor leading to the dungeons practically skipping with happiness. Maybe all her worries about not having friends would disappear.

She realised this may not be true when she walked in to the dark, damp potions room and saw her teacher.

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><p><strong>Okay so I haven't been getting any reviews which makes me worried that my story is utter crap! This is my first fanfic so I would really appreciate some feedback whether it's just to tell me whether its good or bad. tell me what you liked what you didn't like etc.<strong>

**~DubGee**


	10. Just Getting Started

**A/N: Apologies for the delayed update guys I got a bit carried away with the next 3 chapters so it took my editor a while to finish them but they are ready now . So I hope you enjoy this chapter I know it's a bit boring at the moment but It does take a while to get the story rolling, and I don't want my story to be one of the ones that are rushed but things will be getting more interesting from here on as always R&R.**

**A huge thank you to the people who have reviewed I know it's not many at all but I still appreciate it. Thanks to WasabiWarrior 101 for the encouragement to continue the story. Okay back to business after this long ass authors note here is the chapter.**

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><p>The professor had shoulder length oily black hair that looked like it desperately needed a wash, a long crooked nose, and was wearing all black robes.<p>

She walked quietly to the second row of desks and sat on the seat furthest away from him. He did not have a kind face at all, and she was hoping she would go unnoticed. Well, with this teacher anyway.

The lesson began and Mackenzie became even more wary of him. His deep voice was very intimidating and she did not want to get on his bad side, so she payed strict attention.

The teacher stood there staring emotionless at the students for a few moments "I don't expect you all to...understand potion making, nor do I expect you to appreciate it. I do... However, expect you to pay attention" spoke the teacher very slowly.

"Now..." he began when he was interrupted by a group of three students talking amongst themselves "...SILENCE!" he bellowed causing Mackenzie to flinch at his tone. The three girls automatically ceased talking. Mackenzie was learning quickly not to mess with this teacher.

Still emotionless, yet more angered as it seemed, he continued "5 points from Hufflepuff...each!" he turned around swiftly causing his long black robes to flow around his feet, almost running along the ground.

During the lesson Mackenzie had answered all the questions he had been asking them. "Do you show off in all your other classes too, Miss Robins, or do you just feel the need to prove yourself to me?" Mackenzie's cheeks blushed bright red. "You have not let the other students even have a chance at attempting to answer any of my questions." He turned back around and walked to his desk, not even giving her a chance to defend herself.

A group of Slytherin's on the other side of the room started snickering in amusement, and she had noticed that it was once again the group of boys from earlier this morning.

For the remainder of the lesson Mackenzie kept her eyes on the parchment and books in front of her, not drawing any more attention to herself. 'Could this day get any worse?' she asked herself.

She was relieved when the lesson was finally over; it felt like it had dragged on forever. She slammed her textbook shut and practically ran out of the room, tripping over a chair in the process and dropping the textbooks that she held in her arms, causing more amused snickers from the Slytherin's. She stopped to pick her book up as the Slytherin boys walked past her. She stood back up and ran out of the classroom and up the steps, eager to get away. She was so intent on just getting away from the teacher, the classroom, and the Slytherin boys that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going and ran into someone.

"Sorry" she mumbled quickly.

"Watch where you're going bookworm!" She heard the boy say, offended. Mackenzie looked up and almost cringed when she realised who she had run into. It was the same boy who had thrown the book at her.

She tried to continue walking, but before she could even take a full step he stopped her.

He started looking her up and down like she was nothing. "You better be careful next time...freak," he spat, before knocking the books she was holding out of her hands, causing several thuds as they hit the ground.

"What is your problem, what have I done wrong? Why can't you just leave me alone?" she frowned.

The boy put an evil smirk on his face.

"We are just getting started Robins." The group of boys walked away laughing, bumping into her with their shoulders as they passed.

Mackenzie bent down to pick up her books. This time she could not stop the tears from flowing. She stood back up and walked down the deserted corridors realising she was late for her first flying class with the Gryffindors.

She ran outside and got to where the rest of her class was. The teacher turned around at the sound of her approach and gave her a stern disapproving look.

"You're late," she stated simply.

"Sorry," she mumbled out of breath, wiping away a few stray tears.

The stern look remained on the teachers face "Don't let it happen stand at the broom next to Mr. Weasley. Don't let them influence you, they have already caused me trouble." With a sigh she turned back to the class and began telling the few students that were not doing it correctly, and to stand on the correct side of their broom.

Mackenzie walked over to the broom that was placed on the ground next to George.

George smiled.

"Hey Mackenzie." Then realised that something was wrong. "What happened?" he asked, worried when he noticed her red puffy eyes.

"Nothing I-I'm fine," stuttered Mackenzie, attempting a weak smile.

Fred leaned forward from next to George .

"We may not be the smartest kids here, but we know when some one's been crying, especially our best friend."

Mackenzie's smile grew and became more sincere as she realised she at least had two good friends here.

A look of realisation came across Fred's face "It was that kid again wasn't it, the one who threw the book at you after History of Magic class?" He turned to his brother. "What did you say his name was again George?"

George looked angry and annoyed, and his hands balled up into fists.

"David Parkes," he said through clenched teeth.

It took Mackenzie about five minutes of the lesson to convince the boys not to worry about it.

"Seriously guys it's fine and I'm fine I just...want to forget about it." She gave them her sweetest, most convincing smile, and noticed George's face change, showing an emotion she couldn't put her finger on.

She was sick of talking about this so she attempted to change the subject. "So what did you two do to make the teacher so annoyed?" Turning to face them, she nodded her head towards the teacher.

Both boys shrugged and George was the first to say something.

"Nothing exciting really, not some of our best work, but it got the job done anyway," he answered, grinning. Mackenzie couldn't help but be distractedby George's smile. Fred's voice brought her back to nodded in agreement and continued.

"Yeah it was fun though, I stood on the right side of the broom and George stood on the wrong side and George would ask her if he was doing it right and when she said 'no' we would both change sides so then I was on the wrong side of the broom and asked her if I was doing it right, one of us was always on the wrong side."

George continued explaining the look on the teachers face but Mackenzie didn't hear him, as she was too busy staring at him. She shook her head, trying to clear it.

'What's wrong with me?' she thought to herself.

Fred laughed, remembering the look on the teachers face.

"It went for a good five minutes until she gave up."Mackenzie just smiled, amused.

"You guys are crazy."

"Aww! Thanks Zee!" they said in unison.

"That's the best compliment you've ever given us," continued George.

"It's the only compliment I've given you," she stated. The boys just smirked and Mackenzie shook her head as she stepped onto the correct side of her broom, listening to the teachers instructions.

"Now students, put your right hand over your broom and say 'up' in a firm tone" the teacher instructed, walking up and down the middle of the two lines of students.

Mackenzie did as the Professor instructed, she placed her right hand over her broom and said "Up!" The broom flew straight up into her hands and she wrapped her fingers around the handle.

It took the twins a few tries before their brooms flew up to their hands. The teacher walked up to Mackenzie.

"That was impressive Miss Robins, you two as well" she nodded at the twins.

She walked away and continued walking up and down the middle of the students again. "Now, I want you to swing your leg over the broom handle, push of the ground lightly and hover for just a moment, then lean forward and touch back down," she instructed.

Mackenzie threw her leg over the broom along with her other classmates. She pushed off lightly and was hovering perfectly just out of arms reach.

"Perfect Miss Robins! You're a natural" Mackenzie beamed at the teacher's statement.

Madam Hooch rounded on the twins who were hovering up and down alternatively "As for you two," she paused. "You know what? Never mind," she continued before walking away.

After another half an hour of learning the basics of flying, the lesson was over. Mackenzie placed her broom on the ground and picked up her books. She started on her way back inside the castle, walking alongside the twins. Fred and George ran ahead pushing each other along the way. She got butterflies watching George joking around with his brother, but she hardly knew him. Why was she getting butterflies?

"Miss Robins!" Mackenzie turned around at the sound of her name and saw the flying teacher walking towards her.

"Yes? Did I do something wrong?" The teacher was surprised at Mackenzie's assumption.

"Oh no my dear, that's the point. You should really go out for Quidditch next year, you and the Weasley boys. They're disruptive but good fliers."Mackenzie was grinning from ear to ear.

"Wow, thank you, I will definitely keep that in mind!"

"You be sure to do that, you would make a good Chaser." She pointed in the direction of the twins. "As for those two, they have the personality of beaters," she laughed. Mackenzie couldn't help but laugh along with her.

"That's for sure." She turned around to look at the boys, and saw that they were waiting for her by the steps to the entrance hall, joking around with each other.

Her attention went straight to George and his charming smile and flame red hair, she found herself smiling and turned back to Madam Hooch before the boys noticed her staring.

"Thank you Professor!" And with that she turned and started running to Fred and George, excited to tell them about what the professor had said.

"Hey guys! Guess what..."


	11. Plants, Potions and Problems

**Hello lovelies! I seem to be getting more reviews are my story gets longer and I'm happy about that because I was worried my story was complete crap! A review from OldestOfTheYoung saying that my storiy is one of their favorites on literally made me close to tears haha so I do appreciate it. This chapter is kinda long because I got a bit carried away but the longer the better aye! well my rant is now over. ENJOY!**

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><p>The months had started to fly by for Mackenzie. It was already December and it was almost time for the students who were going to return home for the Christmas holidays to leave. Nothing much had changed; the classes were still very easy for Mackenzie. Snape had still made every student's life difficult, while Fred and George were still causing mischief at every possible moment. She had become quite good friends with Jessica, they spent a lot of time with their small group of friends in the common room, and they sat together in the classes they didn't have with Gryffindor. Yes, David Parkes was still giving her a hard time, whether it was tripping her over in the halls, or calling her rude names; you name it he had done it.<p>

She was still good friends with Fred and George, but due to her love of books she spent a lot of her time in the library, so Fred and George had been hanging around with a girl named Angelina Johnson and a guy name Lee Jordan, who were both in Gryffindor.

Mackenzie had hardly ever seen those two in the library, there were only rare moments. This must have been one of those rare times because Mackenzie walked into the quiet, almost empty library and spotted Fred and George sitting at a table with Angelina and Lee. Fred spotted her and gave her a huge grin.

"Hey Zee." Mackenzie gave him a friendly smile in return. Faking surprise Fred continued. "Shocking horror seeing you in here Robins." Mackenzie looked at Fred with an unamused look on her face, but Fred just laughed. She started walking to her own table further down, but as shepassed them, George winked at her.

'Did he just wink at me?' she asked herself, confused. She may have been confused, but that tiny gesture caused butterflies to flitter about in her stomach. She looked down at the ground with a small, shy smile and a pink colouring to her cheeks, and continued to walk to her own table.

She placed her things on the table and went to find a book. She found one on a creature called a Hippogriff. She slowly walked back to her table, hernose already buried in the book, immersed in the information it held. It was a miracle she got to the table without tripping or running into something. She slowly sat down not tearing her eyes away from the pages of the old, worn out book.

She was already halfway through it when a charmed piece of paper had flown over to her and landed on the pages of the book. A frown came over her face and she wondered whether she should open it. Her curiosity got the better of her so she opened it and was surprised to see her name written in small, untidy writing.

_Mackenzie, Come sit with us, we don't bite...much._

_Fred and I were thinking about blowing things up in Filch's office. Mum gave us the idea of blowing something up so technically we can't get in trouble *wink wink*_

_George_

Mackenzie couldn't help but laugh loudly at the small note, resulting in her being shushed by Madam Pince. She mouthed 'sorry' and looked over to George, shaking her head with a half smile on her face. George just smirked back while Fred was trying to contain his laughter.

She looked towards Angelina and Lee, wondering whether they would care if she sat with them. Lee looked care-free and unbothered, but when she looked at Angelina she noticed that she was glaring at Mackenzie, causing her heart to start beating faster and wondered what she had done wrong.

She decided that she better not make it worse so she looked back at George and shook her head smiling before pointing to the book she was reading. She noticed that his face fell for a quick second before he composed his features again. Fred just smiled shrugged and went back to whatever he was doing.

About half an hour later she had finished the entire book. She had thought about reading another book, so she stood up and walked over to put the Hippogriff book back in it's place.

She started walking down the long shelves skimming over the titles written on the spines of the old books. She spotted a book with an emerald green cover and gold writing; she reached up to grab it but even standing on the tips of her toes she couldn't reach it. She spotted a hand reaching over her shoulder and grabbing the book.

"Thanks!" she said before turning around and seeing that it was George. She was looking straight into his deep brown eyes. There was an emotion hidden in them that she couldn't describe.

She took the book and put her head down trying to hide her blush "Uh...thanks...again" she mumbled.

"No problem." George turned and walked away giving her a heartbreaking, charming smile, causing the colour of her blush to deepen.

She walked back to her table and sat down and flipped through the pages of the new book. She had gotten a quarter of the way through before she realised she was yawning and her sight was becoming blurry. She looked at the time and noticed she had been here later than she had realised. She thought about continuing to read but thought better of it, she was much too tired.

She stood up and went to place the book back in it's place on its shelf. She got distracted looking at the spines of all the other books, reading their titles. She tripped on the leg of a chair, which brought her back to reality.

She turned back around and walked back to her desk to pick up her bag. As she was walking past Madam Pince's desk she gave her a polite smile and gave her a small wave. Madam Pince returned the gesture and she started walking through the dimly lit corridors, and down the stairs to get to the common room.

When she got there, she went through the tunnel and plopped herself straight onto her bed, consumed by sleep immediately.

It had been a month since the incident in the library and she was sitting in the Great Hall eating her eggs, staring off at nothing when Fred and George plopped themselves down next to her.

She narrowed her eyes at them with a frown on her face.

"Merlin! Guys you scared me"

"Sorry," they both replied smiling.

"How's your morning been?" George asked picking at Mackenzie's eggs. She simply slapped his hand away.

"Hey, hands off the merchandise." She put another forkful of eggs in her mouth "It's been okay I guess." George just nodded.

"Hey Zee what do we have first?" Fred asked her. Mackenzie simply shook her head.

"We've been here for five months and you don't know what we have?" All she got in return was a careless shrug of his shoulders. "We have Herbology." This time she got a groan from both boys. "Oh come on, it's not that bad," she said laughing. "Come on, let's go."

She grabbed her book bag and slung it over her shoulder walking out of the Great Hall, chatting happily with the boys. When they got to the greenhouse, Angelina was standing outside and called over to the boys.

"Hey Fred, hey George," she said smiling happily until she saw Mackenzie walking with them. Her smile faded and she narrowed her eyes at noticed this and felt uneasy she turned to the guys.

"Um...I-I might go be with Jessica for this lesson okay?" she said in a small voice biting her lip nervously. Fred frowned.

"Uhh...Okay then." He shrugged and turned towards Angelina, but Angelina's focus was on George the entire time. Mackenzie frowned at this but let it go and walked into the greenhouse and stood next to Jessica. She put her book bag down and smiled at Jessica.

"Hey Jess".

"Oh hey Kenzie," she replied politely "How come you're not with Thing One and Thing Two over there?" she asked nodding towards Fred and George. Mackenzie just laughed at Jessica's nicknames for them. Shrugging she said:

"Oh you know, just thought I would get some girl time in somewhere." She left out the fact that Angelina made her feel uncomfortable.

Throughout the lesson she talked happily to Jessica about any random thing, and she found herself looking over at George frequently during the lesson. She saw Angelina touch his arm playfully and attempting to flirt, and was getting rather jealous. She shook her head, attempting to get all thoughts of George out of her head, but it didn't work. She tried to focus on the lesson but Herbology wasn't her favourite subject, although she was rather good at it. She just wasn't interested.

After the hour had finished, Mackenzie made her way to Potions with Jessica. They got to the dungeons and sat down.

"So I noticed that you were looking at George Weasley a lot back in Herbology. Got something to tell me?" she asked her, waggling her eyebrows. Mackenzie cleared her throat nervously.

"No, there's nothing to tell."

"Oh come on Kenzie, there's no point lying to me! I could tell that something was going on in that smart head of yours."

"It's nothing really, it's just that Angelina Johnson has been glaring at me a lot lately. She makes me feel uncomfortable," she admitted, not wanting to keep it in anymore. It was a relief to finally tell someone her worries, but she didn't want to burden Jess with her problems. She had always just dealt with things on her own.

"Just forget about her, I'm sure it's nothing. I'm sure Fred and George won't let anything happen, they really care about you, you know?" She got her books and quill out of her backpack and Mackenzie did the same.

"How do you know that?" she asked curiously, her heartbeat picking up in pace.

"I saw them a couple days ago talking to David Parkes. I couldn't hear everything they were saying but I heard them tell him to leave you alone."

Mackenzie couldn't help but smile at this, she was glad they were her best friends.

She didn't have a chance to say anything back to Jessica because at that moment Snape stormed into the room his usual emotionless face staring the class down.

"Today we will be brewing the Cure for Boils potion. We were supposed to have brewed it earlier this year, but you are all such amateurs that I thought it was better to leave it till now...Not all of you will get it right considering you are all a bunch of dunderheads," Snape told them in his flat, menacing voice. "If you don't do it correctly, I assure you that I will be testing your potions on you."

Mackenzie sat there trying to concentrate on his words, but she was not in the mood to listen to him drone on in his annoying voice.

"I will pair you up and the person you get paired with will be your brewing partner for the rest of this year. I will not accept your complaints...Nor will I change the pairing," he said seriously, staring straight at Mackenzie. This gave her a bad feeling.

She was so hoping that she didn't get paired with David. She had had enough of him for a lifetime. Professor Snape started pairing the students up, and she crossed her fingers, hoping that luck was on her side today. She didn't really want to have to deal with him for the rest of the year.

"Tamsin Applebee and Terrence Higgs." Terrence was a part of David's group, and Mackenzie felt sorry for her fellow Hufflepuff. She hoped that she wouldn't get the same treatment as her.

"Adrian Pucey and Ronnie Caine, Hestia Carrow and Ernie Macmillan, Mackenzie Robins and David Parkes..." Mackenzie gasped and groaned in dread. Snape was still running off names but it was all just a mumbled jumble of words to her.

How could she be put with David Parkes? Of all the other people in the class and she was put with him. He had given her hell and she could tell it was going to get worse.

She turned around in her seat causing her hair to fall over her shoulder, and looked at David. She had a look of dread on her face and was not looking forward to this at all. She wondered what she had done wrong to get this as a punishment. She was a good student, nice to everybody she met, with the exception of Parkes, but that didn't count. Parkes had what looked like a very satisfied smirk on his face. He raked his hand through his coal black hair, leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He was going to enjoy this.

Mackenzie turned back around to face the front of the classroom where she noticed Snape telling off a student for arguing with his pairing. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Jessica giving her a sympathetic look. Great, now people were feeling sorry for her. She really hated that.

She put her head down on the desk and gave a deep sigh. Jessica gave her a soft pat of the back and she picked her head up, once again paying attention to Snape who was done arguing with the student and had resumed his pairing.

"Zacharias Smith and Flora Carrow, last and most certainly least Jessica Twyst and Cederic Diggory." Mackenzie looked at Jessica, who was beaming with happiness and relief. Mackenzie was secretly jealous of who she was paired with, she hated to think it but she wished Jessica was partners with David instead of her. She immediately shook that thought; she would hate to make Jessica deal with Parkes. She internally scolded herself. How could she wish such a punishment on one of her best friends? It was very un-Hufflepuffian of her.

"Now please move to sit with your partners" Snape instructed, sounding bored at usual. Mackenzie heard Jessica groan.

"I don't want to move," she complained.

"Hey at least you aren't paired with a Slytherin," Mackenzie argued. "Not to mention a Slytherin who just so happens to be your worst enemy," she added at the end with another groan. Just thinking about what he could possibly do to her sent shivers down her spine, and not the good kind either.

Jessica gave her another sympathetic smile. She was doing that a lot today and Mackenzie wished she would just stop it.

"You're right, you're righ., I'm sorry, I shouldn't be complaining, especially since I got partnered with Cederic, who is HOT!" She laughed, fanning herself and emphasising her 'hot' statement.

Mackenzie just stared at her incredulously with her mouth open in shock. She softly slapped Jessica's arm.

"I have to spend almost every Potions class with my worst enemy and you're talking about how good looking Cederic Diggory is?" Jessica rubbed her arm with her face scrunched up.

"You're right. Again. I'm sorry. Are you going to be okay? Really?"

Mackenzie could tell that Jessica cared by the worry that was in her voice. She hated people thinking she was weak, but she couldn't lie to Jessica.

"To be honest no. I think he will make my life as difficult as he possibly can. I don't really have a choice though." She shrugged, biting her lip in agitation.

Mackenzie turned around in her seat once again and looked around the damp, dimly lit Potions classroom that always had a weird smell, and noticed that the other students were moving to sit with their partners, most of them rather reluctantly. She also noticed that Parkes was not moving; it looked like she had to be the one to move. She stood up and grabbed her bags and books together slowly trying to waste time.

"I guess I'll see you after class," she said to Jessica, attempting a small smile to let her know she would be fine.

She walked to the back of the classroom muttering in annoyance. She was feeling so frustrated, but she was also afraid of what he was going to do to her. He had tried everything under the sun to annoy her and get under her skin and that was when they didn't even talk – apart from the insults he threw at her – and now they were Potions partners for the rest of the year. It was going to get much, much worse. He could make her fail this class, get her into trouble with Snape, hell he would probably physically hurt her in some way.

She dropped her bag on the floor and looked over at David, who was still leaning back in his chair, this time with his eyes closed. She slammed her books down onto the table, scaring him and causing him to jump, almost falling off of his chair. She was disappointed that he hadn't actually fallen off. She sat down in her chair, trying to suppress a laugh.

"Robins!" she heard David yell. This only made her more amused and made it even harder for her to not laugh.

"Parkes!" she yelled back. David glared at her with narrow eyes.

"What the hell did you do that for?" he demanded. Mackenzie simply gave him an innocent, questioning look.

"I don't know what you're talking about Parkes." She shrugged and grinned at him. He huffed in response and turned around in his chair. His hands had a death grip on his desk and she thought she could hear his teeth grinding together. She smiled, satisfied that she had gotten under his skin instead of the other way around for once. This wasn't like her at all, but being friends with the infamous jokesters Fred and George Weasley was bound to have an effect on her. Besides, he deserved it.

She looked over at Cedric and Jessica, who were watching the entire scene with an amused look on their faces; Jessica looked like she was proud of her friend. Mackenzie winked at her and both girls started laughing uncontrollably. She was laughing so hard that the muscles in her stomach were starting to ache. When she finally got control of her laughing and calmed down, she looked up and was staring straight into the angered eyes of Professor Snape, who was glaring at her with thin, tight lips, obviously annoyed at their behaviour.

"Have something to share Miss Robins?" he asked her with a sneer.

"U-um no sir," she stammered, honestly afraid of Snape.

"Ten points from Hufflepuff," he stated before sweeping away from the desk, his robes billowing behind him. She truly thought that he had it in for her, but what had she ever done to deserve it? She was a good student always handed her homework in on time, always listened to his boring voice giving them lectures. She knew she wasn't the only one though. Of course he never took points off of anyone in the Slytherin house.

She heard Parkes chuckling beside her. She flipped her head around, causing her hair to whip him in the face. She narrowed her eyes and thought about all the evil things she could do to him to make him pay for what he'd done to her. She could die his precious hair green, turn him into a ferret (now that would be funny.) Speaking of pranks, she was wondering what this prank was that Fred and George were planning. He just sat there with a satisfied smile, unaware of what Mackenzie was thinking.

'The rest of this year is going to be horrible' she thought to herself. Snape glared at her once more from across the room before continuing to instruct the class.

"The recipe for this potion is on page 394 of your potions text book." He skimmed over the classroom watching the students flick through their textbooks finding the page. "All the ingredients you need are in the store room," he continued in his droning bored voice."You have until the end of this lesson to complete the potion, I'll prepare myself for disappointment...Now begin!"

Mackenzie looked at the pages in her potions book and then at the table noticing that the equipment they needed was already there so she went to the list of ingredients.

"Okay so we need 6 snake fangs, 4 horned slugs and 2 porcupine quills. You get the snake fangs and I'll get the rest then you can set up." She looked over at Parkes when he didn't say anything. He had his head on the table with his eyes closed. She rolled her eyes and flicked his ear. "Parkes are you even going to do anything?"

He simply kept his eyes closed and did a shooing gesture at her with his hands. Mackenzie huffed angrily. She was so aggravated at how lazy he could be. Never in her life had she met someone this lazy, even her brother Adrian wasn't this lazy. Speaking of Adrian, she hadn't seen him in a while. He was too busy with his sixth year friends but she missed him. She shook her head of those thoughts coming back to the problem at hand, Parkes. She slammed her palms on the table. "Fine! I'll do it myself," she stated. All she got in return was a quiet "Mmhhmm."

She shook her head and got out of her chair. She walked towards the supply room stomping her feet in frustration along the way. She got to the supply room and ran into Jessica as she walked in. She was so annoyed that she hadn't been watching where she was going. She blinked a few times coming back to reality.

"Oh sorry Jessica," she said quickly. She gave her an apologetic look. "I really am, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."Jessica just laughed in return.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. You looked like you have a lot on your mind. I see that David is giving you a hard time already." She went back to gathering her ingredients.

Mackenzie started looking around the shelves looking for the snake fangs and rolled her eyes at Jessica's statement.

"Ugh! You have no idea Jess, he is horrible. He expects me to do all the work while he sits there and acts like an almighty king that doesn't have to do anything but sleep." She looked out the door and saw that Terrence Higgs was at her desk and Parkes was whispering something into his ear, which made her suspicious. Her attention was back on finding the snake fangs, which she found easily enough.

"I'm glad I got paired with Cedric. Did I mention how hot he is? I was so happy to get paired with him, I sort of have a crush on him actually."

Mackenzie just sighed.

"Yes you have mentioned that." She was happy for her friend but she couldn't help but be annoyed that Jess was rubbing it into her face that she got a better partner than she did.

"Well I have everything I need. I'll see you later." Jessica walked to the door, but before she walked out she stopped and turned around. "Oh and good luck with Parkes. Have fun," she laughed before walking out.

Mackenzie scoffed, muttering curse words about Parkes. She was beginning to take her frustration out on the supplies, sliding them harshly out of her way. How dare he sit there and do nothing! She had never let anyone get to her this way, so why was she letting him get to her the way he way?. She had found the slugs and was now searching for the porcupine quills.

She decided to think about something else. That something else just so happened to be George Weasley. His fiery red hair and charming smile. Thinking about him made her think about what had happened between them in the library. She swore she had seen something change in George's face and they had been so close. Thinking about it again gave her butterflies. He gave her the strangest feelings, and she found herself smiling at just the thought of him. With thoughts of George also came thoughts of the looks that Angelina was giving her. If looks could kill she definitely wouldn't be here right now; she would be six feet under.

The thoughts of George that were filling her head had taken her attention away from what she was doing and she had accidentally knocked a jar of newt eyes out of her way, causing it to slide off the shelf. She squeezed her eyes shut preparing for the sound of shattering glass and Snape's furious voice telling her that she got detention every night this week, but it never came.

She opened her eyes expecting to see Snape's black eyes glaring at her, but when she turned she was looking into the kind gentle eyes of Cedric Diggory. She sighed in relief as he put the jar back on the shelf.

"Thanks. Wait, I thought Jess got everything you guys needed."

"Well she did, but she didn't get enough snake fangs so I came to get the rest," he shrugged and gave her a small smile.

"At least you're doing something. I got partnered with someone who is not only my enemy but is also the laziest person I have ever met." She once again huffed in frustration; she was doing that a lot today. She hated the fact that Parkes was getting to her this much. She closed her eyes to calm herself down, taking deep breaths.

Once she was relatively calm again she continued looking for the porcupine quills, remembering to be careful this time. "Where are those damn porcupine quills" she muttered to herself, getting worked up again. If her mother was here she would be worrying about how stressed out she was.

She got startled when Cedric started talking to her again. He was waving his hands in front of her face and looking at her with a curious expression. She realised that he had been talking for a while but she did not hear a word of it.

"I'm sorry Cedric, I spaced out for a while there."

"It's fine, I was just mumbling about nothing. Well good luck with that jerk of a partner. I would invite you to join me and Jessica but you know what Snape is like." He walked over to the shelf that she was at and reached his arm over her shoulder. He was relatively taller than her; the top of her head reached the height of his chin. He grabbed a box and gave it to her. "Porcupine quills," he said, smiling before leaving the storage room.

She slapped herself on the forehead and looked around the storeroom, embarrassed. She had everything she needed now, so she walked out of the storeroom, squeezing past Terrence Higgs in the doorway. He was friends with Parkes, so of course he had to annoy her. He purposely pushed her into the door frame of the storeroom. She thought of pushing him back, but decided it wasn't worth it and she would more than likely get more points taken off of her for it. Slytherin was already in front with house points.

She hit her head against it and her ribs were hurting from the force, but she didn't let her pain show as she walked past the other desks back to her own. Her ribs hurt when she sat down and it was getting harder for her to breath. She didn't like to be weak, so she dealt with it and decided she would go to see Madam Pomfrey later.

She wasn't shocked at all to see that Parkes had his head down on the desk and nothing was set up. She made an obvious effort to annoy him, baning things onto the desk loudly and elbowing him by 'accident'. Although it hurt her ribs to do so, it was worth it.

She had just added the horned slugs after letting it sit on the fire when she turned towards her partner, having had enough of his refusal to do anything. His eyes were still closed and she was getting more and more frustrated with him by the second. He had not done one thing to help her. She grabbed her thick potions textbook and hits him with it hard on this back.

"Parkes" she said through gritted teeth. "Are you going to do anything?"

All she got was an 'mmm' in return and he turned his head so he was facing away from her. She had just about had enough. He was getting on her last nerve and she was pretty sure that steam would be coming out of her ears. She grabbed his messy black hair and pulled his head up.

"Ow!" he complained, but she didn't let go.

"You are going to help me finish this potion, or you will not have any hair left when I'm finished"

"Okay, okay. Jeez Robins, you're annoying!" She let his hair go and pushed his head forward. This was not how she usually acted, but if it was the only way she was going to get through to him she was going to do it. She thought about how proud Fred and George would be of her.

Parkes leaned over and before she could stop him, he grabbed the porcupine quills and carelessly threw them into the cauldron.

"Parkes NO!..."


	12. My Lips Are Sealed

**Disclaimer:  As much as I wish I owned Harry Potter, I don't. This magical world that I'm using for inspiration belongs to the supermegafoxyawesomehot J.K Rowling and her genius brain. I merely own the plot of this story and the OC's :)  
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**Well it's Monday again so that means that it's time for an update haha. I have a bit of writers block so I'm not sure when the next update will be, i am still aiming for next Monday but im not entirely sure. Anyways enough of my babbling, back to business. Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think. Reviews encourage me to keep writing because I know people are enjoying it.**

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><p>Walking down the dim isolated corridors on her way to the hospital wing with Parkes following at her heels, Mackenzie was huffing and puffing in anger. Because Parkes wasn't paying attention in Potions, she was now stuck with the burden of walking him to Madam Pomfrey. Remembering what happened in potions had her fuming.<p>

*_Flashback_*

"_Parkes NO!" Mackenzie shouted, but it was too late, the porcupine quills were already in the potion and she had just enough time to dive out of the way of the explosion._

_The fall to the ground made her ribs hurt even worse; she gasped in pain and held her breath until it died down a bit. She let the breath go and took short deep breaths. The next thing she heard was Parkes letting out a horrified yell._

_She sat herself up and took a long look at Parkes, who was now covered in bright red, puss filled boils. She suppressed a laugh while hoping that they were really painful. He deserved it. She enjoyed seeing him like this it was hilarious and the rest of the class obviously thought so, because they were all laughing hysterically._

"_Parkes! Robins! What have you done?" Mackenzie's smile faltered when she heard Snape's furious voice. She cowered away from his looming figure._

"_It was Parkes' fault,__Professor, he hasn't done anything all lesson and then he just carelessly threw the porcupine quills into the cauldron." She scowled at Parkes. She couldn't believe how careless he was._

"_Oh shove it Robins, it's not my fault," he growled back at her._

"_It is your fault Parkes! You aren't supposed to put the porcupine quills in until AFTER you have taken the cauldron off of the fire," she said with a roll of her eyes. "If you were paying attention and actually participated and read the instructions you wouldn't be covered in boils right now and my shoes wouldn't have holes burnt into them!"_

"_ENOUGH!"__The fierceness and malice in Snape's voice startled Mackenzie and__she was instantly quiet. "30 points each from Hufflepuff and Slytherin for your carelessness-"_

"_But sir! It-"_

_Snape just continued talking as if she hadn't interrupted "- you will both have detention with me every night for the next 2 weeks, and Miss Robins you can escort Mr Parkes to the hospital wing."_

"_What! But sir I-"_

"_Enough Miss Robins. You will do as you are told. Now go!"_

_*End of Flashback*_

So now here she is walking through the corridors alone with David Parkes. Why was she the one stuck with taking him? Why couldn't one of his friends take him? I mean, sure she was a Hufflepuff and she was nice to everyone, but she was not responsible for Parkes and he didn't deserve her niceness.

She looked down at her shoes. Her toes were poking through the end of them. Great, this is just what she needed. Stomping down the hallways caused her ribs to hurt again, but she was too furious to stop and walk normally. She was finding it more and more difficult to breath, so she thought about seeing Madam Pomfrey about it. Then again did she really want anyone to know about it? What would happen if Higgs found out that she had told and he came after her again? That's when she decided to keep it to herself, there was no point in telling someone only to have something much worse happen. She would just have to be careful for a few weeks. Yes a few weeks. She was sure that her ribs were at least fractured. She was in too much pain for them to be simply bruised.

She drew a breath in through her gritted teeth and tried to breath normally which was becoming more and more difficult. She clutched her side but let her arms drop when they got to the doors of the hospital not wanting Madam Pomfrey to figure out that she was hurt.

"Um Madam Pomfrey are you here?" She asked, looking around because she could not see her anywhere. At the sound of Mackenzie's voice Madam Pomfrey came back around a corner and gasped at the sight of Parkes.

"Oh dear, what happened here?" she asked in a worried tone that a mother would have.

"We were in Potions and Parkes caused our potion to explode," she explained giving Parkes an accusing glare. She could not keep a straight face for long though when she looked at him. His face was absolutely covered in boils and she found satisfaction in the fact that they looked very painful.

Madam Pomfrey clicked her tongue is disapproval.

"Very well, Mr. Parkes come over here and sit on this bed. I will have to give you a potion to get rid of the boils but I'm afraid you will have to stay in overnight. Thank you Miss Robins you may go now."

Mackenzie heard Parkes groan, resulting in Mackenzie smirking. Parkes looked at her and gave her a death stare. She shrugged and smiled at him before skipping out of the Hospital Wing, totally forgetting about her ribs until it felt like knives were being shoved through her midsection. She slowed down to a walk and hid behind a pillar gasping for breath. She started to reconsider getting checked, but once again thought better of it and chose to ignore it as much as possible.

When she got back to the dungeons, the end of class bell rang so she went in and grabbed her books to get to her next class and make this day be over and done with already. By the end of Muggle Studies she was glad to get to the Great Hall so she could eat something. She was walking slowly and carefully so she didn't cause herself anymore pain.

She thought that she would sit with her brother today after not seeing him much lately. She was really close with Adrian. He was the one who looked after her when their mum was busy or at work. She used to have nightmares and he would be the one to come in and help her get back to sleep. Their father taught them all kinds of musical instruments before he died, so Adrian would play his guitar for her to help her fall back to sleep. She didn't know what she would have done without him.

She searched the long table for him and spotted him half way down. She smiled and waved on her way and he jumped up and gave her a tight hug causing her to wince in pain. He was crushing her ribs. Adrian heard her sharp intake of breath and let go of her immediately.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice dripping with concern.

"Nothing, nothing I'm fine," she attempted a smile but by the look on her brother's face, she could tell that it didn't work. She didn't want him to worry, he was always looking after her and it was about time she grew up and looked after herself and solved her own problems. Besides, if she told him what happened, she was sure that he would do something that he would regret later.

"Don't give me that crap Mackenzie, I can tell when you're lying." He tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrows, daring her to argue with him. She bit her lip nervously, feeling conflicted. On one hand she wanted to tell him because she hated lying to him and he may be able to help, but on the other hand she didn't want to get him involved and make things worse for him and herself. She decided that it would be better for him to know, maybe he knows a healing charm. She grabbed his hand and started dragging him out of the Great Hall.

"Mackenzie, what are you doing?" he questioned her.

"Just come with me, I'm going to show you what's wrong, so just come on." They got to a pillar and she pulled him so he was facing her. "Okay if I show you, you have to promise me you won't freak out."

"Mackenzie I-"

"Just promise" she pleaded with him.

"Okay I promise," she heard him reply after a few moments of silence.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before she pulled her school blouse up just enough so he could see the black and blue bruises covering her ribs. She heard him take a sharp breath.

She opened her eyes and Adrian was just staring at the bruises so she pulled her shirt back down. He looked up to her eyes with his mouth open in shock.

"Mackenzie...wh-who did this to you?"

She took a deep breath and sighed, which was not a good idea because it caused her a large amount of pain to do so. Adrian saw this and grabbed fistfuls of his hair his facial expression full of worry and concern.

"It doesn't matter," she stated simply looking down at her feet, too afraid to look at his face.

"It doesn't matter? Of course it matters Mackenzie!" His voice rose in volume; he was getting frustrated with her now.

"You promised you wouldn't freak out," she whispered. She knew he would that's why she made him promise, he never breaks his promises butshe guessed this was an exception. She doesn't blame him though; she would have the same reaction if it were him that this had happened to.

"That's before I saw that," he said pointing to her ribs. "I can't just ignore that. Of course I'm going to freak out!" She could hear the anger in his voice and looked up at him and into his eyes her own pleading with him.

"Don't be mad at me okay, just forget about it, pretend you didn't see anything," She begged him, her voice barely an audible whisper. She heard her brother sigh deeply in response.

"I'm not mad at you Kenzie, I'm mad that you won't tell me who did this to you." At this he pulled her into a hug,being gentle so he didn't cause her any more unnecessary pain. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest, trying to hold in the tears that were threatening to overflow, but she could not stop them from falling from her eyes.

She could smell his cologne and although it might be strange, this scent was comforting to her, it represented home and safety. He kissed the top of her head and slowly let her out of the hug wiping away the tears that had escaped.

"You know I will have to tell mum."

Mackenzie widened her eyes at this. "Ade you can't! You just can't. You know how she will react. Please. Promise me you won't tell her." Sobs racked her body causing her shoulders to shake and her ribs to hurt, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop.

Adrian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing. "Okay, Okay I won't tell mum. I promise my lips are sealed, but you should at least go to the Hospital Wing and get checked out." He hated seeing his sister in so much pain. She was always in some sort of pain lately, whether it is physical or emotional. He just wanted to see her happy for once. He hadn't seen her truly happy since their dad died. He had tried so many different ways to cheer her up. He used to be terrified when she would wake up screaming from nightmares. It killed him inside to see his sister like that.

Mackenzie shook her head.

"No I can't go to Madam Pomfrey she will ask me what happened and you know how much of a bad liar I am. If I told her and he found out things will only get worse."

"Well can you at least tell me?" he pleaded with her.

"I can't Adrian, just drop it okay? It will be fixed in a few weeks and then I'll be fine," she said before walking away in the direction of her next class.

Adrian watched his sister's retreating figure, and when she disappeared around the corner he walked into the Great Hall in a daze. As he sat down, he was consumed with thoughts about his sister's safety. Who was doing this to her? And why, what did she do to deserve this? He placed his elbows on the table and put his head in his hands ignoring the curious looks he was getting from his friends. He felt that he HAD to tell someone. He just had to, but she didn't want anyone to know, she had said if the person found out that she told things would only get worse. He definitely didn't want that. He would protect her with his life. So for now, his lips were sealed.


	13. So Much for Secrecy

**Hey lovelies, a few things before we get to the chapter. Firstly, apologies for the lateness of this update. After the last update I had my Uni exam so I was studying and then about a week ago one of my friends passed away so I haven't really had the time or been in the mood for writing but here it is. Secondy, this chapter is more of a filler, not much exciting happens but that's because I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer. astly, thanks to my editor for sending back the edited chapter so quickly! Okay back to the reaing. Enjoy!**

**~Alyssa**

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><p>After walking away from Adrian, Mackenzie was no longer hungry. Instead of walking back to the Great Hall and dealing with facing her brother, she decided to go to one of the few places she felt comfortable and safe: the library.<p>

The smell of old books and dust was oddly comforting to her, and she loved escaping into the different worlds that the various books offered. Reading allowed her to forget about her problems and it was something she was good at. She walked through the aisles and skimmed her fingers across the spines of the books until she found one that caught her attention. She sat down at a desk, her nose already buried in the book and her mind dove into the information that the book held.

She was so immersed in the book that she completely lost track of time, until Madam Pince walked over and told her that the next class was about to begin. Mackenzie jumped up in shock; she was never late to class. After thanking Madam Pince and placing the book back where it belonged, she sprinted out of the library and down the stairs to the Muggle Studies classroom, ignoring her ribs that were screaming in protest.

The rest of her day went by in a blur of pain and confusion. She was confused as to what she should do about Parkes and his followers. If she didn't say anything then Parkes would win, but if she did say something she would appear weak and things would only get worse.

She walked to dinner in the Great Hall, which was flooded with the noises of students chatting happily together. She looked at her brother who was sitting at the Gryffindor table and decided that she would apologise to him after dinner.

She walked down between the tables to where she spotted Jessica at the front of the Hufflepuff table with their friend Amy. She sat down across from them and started filling her plate with various foods. After skipping lunch, she was absolutely starving.

Jessica could see the pain in her friends face as she reached across the table and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Hey Kenzie, are you okay?" The sound of her name brought her out of her thoughts. She shook her head attempting to clear it.

"Sorry Jess, what did you say?"

"I asked if you were okay, you look like you're in pain." Mackenzie stiffened. Did she know what happened? Did Adrian tell her? No, he wouldn't have, he promised her.

"Um y-yeah I-I'm fine Jess, just a headache," she lied.

Attempting to change the subject and fill the awkward silences, Mackenzie asked Jessica about Potions and Cedric. This was all Jessica needed to start talking about how he was the perfect partner and how sweet he was. She was talking so fast, Mackenzie had a hard time keeping up and understanding. She suddenly went quiet and Mackenzie looked at her curiously.

"Jess has stopped talking. Has hell frozen over?"

"Oh ha ha very funny Kenzie," Jessica drawled in a sarcastic tone. "No, I just realised that I'm sitting here rambling on about how perfect my partner is when you had a horrible partner and a horrible Potions lesson."

"Jess with Snape as a teacher every Potions lesson is horrible! Seriously don't worry about it, it's fine it was almost worth it to see Parkes annoyed and in pain." Amy, who was sitting silently the whole time, looking amused at the interaction between the girls, finally spoke.

"Can someone please fill me in here?" she asked looking at both girls. Amy was a second year so she wouldn't have a clue what went on in Potions.

Mackenzie went on to explain the entire Potions lesson leaving out the minor detail of being shoved into the door frame. All three girls started laughing hysterically when Mackenzie described Parkes being covered in boils.

Mackenzie had just finished eating the last forkful of food on her plate, when two owl swooped into the hall, one of them dropping a note in front of her. She opened it up and groaned, placing her head on the table.

_Miss Robins_

_Please report for your detention in the__Potions classroom immediately after dinner. No excuses for being late._

_Professor Snape_

She picked her head up and glanced at the Slytherin table. When she found Parkes, he was reading the note that was dropped in front of him. She gathered that it said the same thing because he looked up and gave her a smirk, to which she glared in reply. She faced Jessica and Amy, who had read the note over her shoulder and were giving her sympathetic looks.

She was startled and jumped in her seat when she heard two bags being simultaneously thrown onto the table.

"Hey Fred, hey George."

"Hey Kenzie"

"Hey Zee! How in the name of Merlin did you know it was us? You didn't even look up," asked Fred.

"Hmm let's see. Who else would live to annoy me and take pleasure in scaring the hell out of me? Besides I know my best friends."

"Okay you got us there, but you know we only annoy you because we love you," George replied, elbowing her in the side.

She grunted in pain but tried not to let it show; she didn't want them getting suspicious, but Jess did not miss it and Mackenzie could tell she was going to be confronted about it later. Luckily Fred and George were oblivious and too busy stuffing their faces with food.

"So Mackenzie"

"We wanted to ask you something-"

"We want to blow up Filch's office-"

"And tonight we're going to come up with a plan-"

"So would you like to help us?"

Mackenzie was getting dizzy looking back and forth between the two as they spoke and closed her eyes, willing the dizziness to go away.

"As much as I would love to join my two best guys in concocting a genius plan that could either kill me or get me expelled, I can't. Not tonight, I have a detention with Snape after dinner."

She looked up at George and noticed his jaw had dropped. She then looked at Fred and noticed that he had the same expression. She looked down at the table blushing. "What?" she asked feeling self conscious.

"You, Mackenzie Robins; goody-two-shoes, kind hearted, perfect, sweet, smart, bookworm Hufflepuff who wouldn't dream of doing anything wrong, have a detention?" Mackenzie blushed a deeper shade of red at the words George had used to describe her.

She quickly composed herself before speaking. "I'm not as much of a goody-two-shoes as you think I am, if I'm best friends with you two," she scoffed.

"Wow Zee, you're on a roll today."

"Aren't I always Fred? I hang out with you two all the time; I'm bound to learn a thing or two." The boys and their playful banter helped get her injuries and problems out of her mind. She looked over and saw George was staring at her. When he noticed that Mackenzie was looking at him he quickly turned away and started up a conversation with Amy, but not before she spotted the faint blush on his cheeks.

While they were chatting about random things, Mackenzie didn't notice her brother across the hall was about to tell his new girlfriend Savannah Hasbroh everything his sister had told him. She had been asking him what was wrong all day and he needed to get it of his chest.

"I don't know Savannah, I'm so confused. On the one hand I don't want to say anything, she said if I did the person hurting her would only get worse, but I want to tell someone because I could prevent it from happening again. I'm all she has and I need to protect her. She told me not to tell anyone, I'm already betraying her trust and breaking my promise by telling you. I've never broken a promise that I made her." He sighed deeply and put his head in his hands.

"Wait, what do you mean someone's hurting her? You mean emotionally right?" she questioned.

"No Savannah. Someone is hurting her physically, but she won't tell me who. At lunch she dragged me out of here into the hallway and showed me the bruises." He heard Savannah gasp in shock but continued. "Her whole upper stomach is black and blue and I couldn't even hug her without causing her pain."

"You told her?" Adrian turned around only to find out that Mackenzie was standing behind him and she had heard everything he said.

"Mackenzie I-"

"You broke a promise Adrian; so much for not telling anyone. Thanks a lot." The last thing he saw before she turned and walked away was tears filling her eyes.


	14. I'd Rather Die

**Hey you lovely people! This chapter isn't my best but never the less I hope you like it anyway :)  
><strong>

**Disclaimer:  
>Fred- Come on Alyssa say it.<br>Me- Do I have to?  
>George- Yes! Now do it.<br>Me: Oh fine! I do not own Harry Potter it belongs to the amazing JK Rowling. There are you happy now?**

**Both- Yes.**

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><p>To say that Mackenzie was fuming would be a major understatement. She couldn't believe that her own brother would do this to her. Why would he tell that girl her biggest secret after promising to keep his mouth shut? Who the hell was that girl anyway?<p>

If she was being completely honest, she didn't know how she was feeling. She was angry, that's for sure. How dare he tell someone her secret, especially to someone she didn't even know! She was confused, not knowing why he would tell that particular person, she had never really seen her before. However, she was mostly feeling upset and disappointed. Adrian had never broken a promise that he made to her. Not even the smallest promise like that time that she broke something belonging to her mother and he promised not to tell and instead took the blame, and now the biggest and most important promise was broken mere hours after it was made. Plus, now she had to go to detention with Parkes. Her day was getting worse and worse.

She wandered down through the halls that only had faint lighting, trying to waste time. Walking alone with nothing but the bare stone walls to look at gave her a chance to think about things. Those things just so happened to be centred around George Weasley. She couldn't believe that she was feeling this way when she didn't really even know him that well. He was her best friend and she didn't know anything about him besides the basics. She didn't know much about his family other than the fact that he had another prude of a brother named Percy. She guessed that seeing someone almost every day made a difference. Then her thoughts went to Fred. What would he think about her feelings towards George, would he approve? Or would he think that she wasn't good enough for him? She would have to talk to him about it; she didn't want to ruin any friendships.

She was still deep in thought, absentmindedly running her hands along the damp wall when she smacked right into someone, causing her to stumble back. She regained her balance and looked up to see who she had run into and instantly regretted doing so, for she was looking into the menacing eyes of Snape.

"I suggest you watch where you are going next time, Miss Robins. Hurry yourself up and get to the classroom for detention."

Mackenzie gulped loudly and wished she had gotten Jess or the twins to walk her here. Snape turned swiftly around and started towards his classroom. She felt relieved to be released from his stare; she didn't think she would ever get used to it.

Not wanting to cause any more trouble for herself, she quickened her pace and followed Snape into her least favorite classroom. Looking around it was clear as to why she hated it; blank walls, jars filled with mysterious objects and ingredients, the smell of the many potions and ingredients used in here and of course the person sitting at the desk in the front of the classroom.

"Sit down Miss Robins, we must wait for Mr. Parkes to arrive."

Mackenzie complied to his instructions and sat awkwardly, looking around the room to avoide the cold eyes of her Professor.

It was another twenty minutes before Parkes strolled into the classroom, acting like he owned the place. "Finally," she said, thinking she said it low enough that Snape couldn't hear it. She was proved wrong when he snapped his head towards her.

"Silence Robins. How nice of you to join us, Mr. Parkes."

"Not a problem sir, hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long." He feigned innocence and Mackenzie could not believe it when Snape just dismissed it.

"Not at all." He had said. "Right. Both of you follow me."

Mackenzie stood up and followed the Professor to the storage cupboard, tripping over as Parkes stuck his foot out in front of her, causing her to knock a flask off of one of the desks.

Snape hearing her stumble and the break of the glass turned around and narrowed his eyes. "Compose yourself, I do not appreciate my belongings being broken."

"Sir it wasn't my fault. Parkes, he – "

"I don't want to her your excuses," he stated putting an end to her protests. He turned back around and started toward the Storage Room, but not before Mackenzie heard a mumble of "Clumsy fool" from her teacher.

She rounded on Parkes, glaring at him. If looks could kill then he would be dead ten times over. Parkes just smirked, trying to stop his laughter. Mackenzie huffed and stomped her foot before walking to the Storage Room to await instructions from Snape.

"Now for the next hour you two are to sort and re-shelve these ingredients alphabetically." Mackenzie groaned internally; this was going to be a terribly long hour.

Snape left the room immediately after giving them more instructions, mostly consisting of telling them not to cause any more trouble and to not kill each other. Mackenzie set to work pulling the ingredients off the shelf and sorting them in their letter groups on the ground.

Parkes, being the same lazy git as always, expected her to do all of the work and sat on the ground his back against the wall.

Twenty minutes later she was fed up and decided to do something about it. "Listen Parkes, I'm not doing all the work myself this time. I will not have a repeat of Potions, so get off your ass and help."He rolled his eyes at her before standing up and dusting himself off.

"Right. Shove over then Robins," he demanded before sauntering over to her and pushing her forcefully to the ground.

Mackenzie winced in pain and let a small whimper escape her lips as the force of the fall sent searing pain through her upper body. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears to go away. She pushed herself up and continued on with the task, not even sparing Parkes a glance.

"Were those tears I saw before Robins?"

"No Parkes they weren't," she lied, hoping he wouldn't catch it. "Now leave me alone and actually do some work before I hex you into oblivion."

All she got in response was a scoff from Parkes. "Please Robins, you don't scare me, you Hufflepuffs are too weak to do any damage."

Raising an eyebrow she turned to argue "I wouldn't be so sure of yourself, Hufflepuffs are just as talented as everyone else."

"They should all learn to respect their superiors, especially you." Sticking his nose up in the air he finally went to work.

Mackenzie couldn't stop herself from laughing. "Y-You, superior? That – has to be – the biggest – lie – of the century!" she said in between fits of laughter. She finally calmed down enough to be able to continue talking normally. "If you find someone who is superior let me know so I can respect them." She wiped away her tears of laughter. This boy obviously needs to be sent to St Mungo's.

Thinking that she has the last word she went back to removing more ingredients from the shelves. She was proved wrong when she was turned from behind and shoved roughly against the shelves. Parked had a vice grip on her wrists and was right up in her face.

"When will you learn to shut your mouth Robins? I should have told Higgs to push you harder, that way you would be in the hospital wing instead of annoying me right now." He spat.

Mackenzie's eyes widened in realisation before narrowing them and scowling at him, her lips forming a thin tight line. "You told him to do it? That's what you were whispering about in Potions? You stupid, arrogant, heartless git!" she yelled. She couldn't believe the nerve of this guy.

Her outburst only seemed to anger him further and his grip on her wrists tightened. "Parkes let me go, you're hurting me." He found satisfaction in her statement.

"Not a chance. If you want me to let go, you're going to have to beg me," he said, smirking in satisfaction at the thought of being in control.

"Ha! I would rather die standing right here than be on my knees begging." If he thought she was going to beg, then he was most certainly insane.

"That can be arranged."

At these words Mackenzie used all the strength she could muster and wrenched her wrists free of his grip and tried to rub the pain away. She whipped her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at his nose.

At the moment she opened her mouth to threaten him Snape walked back into the storage room. "Miss Robins lower your wand this instant. I thought I told you not to cause any more trouble and here you are pointing your wand in another students face. Go to the Headmasters office immediately, you foolish girl. Your behaviour is absurd."

Mackenzie hesitated for a few moments before seeing the deathly glare Snape was sending her way. She lowered her wand and stepped away from Parkes. "You better watch your back Parkes. I may be a Hufflepuff but I'm just as strong as anyone else and I'm not going to let you hurt me anymore." She walked to the door but turned back before exiting "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt Parkes, and let me tell you; that someone won't be me."

The last thing she heard Parkes say before storming out of the classroom was "We'll see about that Robins."

Threatening someone was way out of character for her, but she couldn't help it, he brought out the worst in her. She was determined not to let him get to her any longer, he had put her through enough already and now she could add bruised wrists to that seemingly never ending lists. She would get back at him with the help of Fred and George. She would talk to them about those pranks they mentioned earlier. Parkes won't know what hit him. The planning would have to wait, because for now she had an appointment with the Headmaster.


	15. Azkaban's Newest Inmate?

****Hey lovelies, I know I haven't updated in a while and I'm not going to give you stupid excuses other than the fact that I had a bit of writers block and I've been stressed with Uni, BUT here is a new chapter. Nothing much really goes on here it's just a filler that leads up to the next couple of chapters. Thanks to my awesome editor Lissie! Enjoy.****

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><p>It had been a week. A week since Mackenzie stopped talking to her brother. A week since she had that awful detention with Parkes and a week where she had bruises around her wrists.<p>

Her ribs were almost healed. They were only a dull pain, but now she had new bruises around her wrists. No one had suspected anything, not even the twins had found out, and she didn't want them to start now. Until the bruises on her wrists went away, she was stuck wearing long sleeved shirts.

Today she was going to talk to Fred and George about playing a series of pranks on Parkes to get revenge on him. She knew they would say yes; pranks were the thing they were best at, but there were only four months of the school year left and she wanted to get a move on with the plans.

She walked into the Great Hall for breakfast with a wide smile and a spring in her step, hoping that the twins were already there. As she walked in, she waved at Jessica who was already at the Hufflepuff table. She jerked her head towards the crowded Gryffindor table, letting her know that she was sitting there today. With a final smile and nod from Jessica she walked down the long table and threw herself onto the chair next to George.

"Hey guys!" she practically sang as she filled her plate up with food.

"Hey Zee," Fred responded.

"Hey Kenzie. Why are you so happy this morning? Have a good dream about me last night?" George asked with a wink before wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at her.

Mackenzie blushed a brilliant shade of red and laughed nervously, because she did in fact dream about him last night and it unnerved her. She wasn't going to tell him, though, so she lied and hoped he didn't catch on.

"Ha, you wish Georgie boy."

"Oh, yes of course I do. Before I go to bed I pray that you were plagued with thoughts of me all day and that you dream about me all night," he said, placing his hand over his heart. Little did she know that this was pretty close to how he was thinking. He was pretty sure that Fred was starting to catch on. Whenever she wasn't looking he would stare at her. He noticed how her eyes changed shades of green every day, getting more and more beautiful, and he noticed that she bit her lip when she was either nervous or concentrating. He was constantly thinking about her and he didn't know how to handle it.

Mackenzie made a very unladylike snort before laughing. "No, I'm happy because I have an idea that I just know you are both going to love." She stated bouncing up and down in her seat.

Amused at her actions, the boys started laughing. "Well by all means, m'lady, tell us what this idea of yours is."

"Well I want your help to pull a series of pranks on David Parkes. There are only four months left of this year and I want to get started. So what do you think?" She sat there tapping the table repeatedly with her fingers, waiting for them to respond and felt her heart drop when they just stared at her. Her mood lifted when they both started grinning mischievously.

Fred wiped away a non-existent tear and sniffed loudly. "I'm so proud," he said in a slightly squeaky voice.

Mackenzie giggled at his actions before she had the breath squeezed out of her when Fred gather her into an incredibly tight hug.

"Fred – need – to – breathe," she managed to gasp out.

"Oh, right the whole needing air to live thing, sorry." He let her go and went back to eating.

Mackenzie sucked in the air hungrily, making up for what she was deprived of. "So you guys will help me then?" she asked hopefully, giving them her best and most convincing smile.

It was George who replied this time. "What a stupid question, of course we will. I knew we made the right choice becoming friends with you."

His words make Mackenzie's heart stop momentarily before it started beating rapidly. This boy had no idea the effects he had on her. She cast her eyes down so she could calm herself without having to look into those brilliant eyes of his. When she looked back up again she noticed that there was a frown on Fred's face.

"Not that we don't love the idea Zee, but why the sudden interest in Parkes? Is he bothering you again?" he asked in a serious tone. His jaw twitched at the thought of Parkes bothering her. She was like his little sister and it angered him.

Mackenzie didn't want to tell them the story, she had a feeling that they would react badly. She looked away from them to get away from the piercing look in their eyes and she spotted her brother further along the table sitting with his friends and that girl he told. He was looking at her with a sad look in his eyes, not even paying attention to his friends. She missed him terribly, but he had hurt her and she wasn't going to give in. She saw the girl put her hand on his arm and whisper something to him and he looked away.

Mackenzie sent them a glare before turning her attention back to Fred and George, who were looking at her expectantly. It was then that she realised that she hadn't answered their question. She didn't know how to tell them so she muttered one simple word.

"Yes."

Her brother had already told someone else, so what was the harm in telling her best friends. She saw anger and frustration flicker across their faces.

"What has he done this time Mackenzie?"

This was the one question she had been dreading and she wished that George wouldn't have asked. She bit her lip and her eyes dated everywhere around the room, avoiding his eyes.

"Zee please tell us." The soft and caring tone of Fred's voice is what made her spill the beans.

"He's been hurting me, but I can't show you here too many people will see, come with me into the hall." She stood up and picked up her bag before walking out of the hall full of nerves and worried about what their reactions would be. She should just trust them, they were her best friends. Then again she thought she could trust her brother, but he told someone straight away.

The brothers walked behind her, curious to know what Parkes had done to her. If he had physically hurt her they would feel tremendously guilty. She was their best friend and they should be protecting her, not letting her deal with this alone.

When they got into the hall she dropped her bag to the floor and began pacing the hall while wringing her hands, preparing herself to tell them, or in this case, show them.

She felt hands grab onto her shoulders making her stop pacing. She spun around and came face to face with Fred. She took a step back and breathed deeply before telling them the story.

"Okay, so I know you aren't going to like what I'm about to tell you and show you, but you can't do anything extreme." She slowly pulled back the sleeves of her shirt revealing her bruised wrists. "This happened last week in detention. Parkes didn't like something I had said so he grabbed my wrists and pushed me into the shelves." She pulled her sleeves back down and started to lift the hem of her shirt up revealing the yellow fading bruises that were covering her ribs. She heard two sharp intakes of breath and continued on. "These ones are from the same day in Potions. Parkes got one of his friends to push me into the doorframe. I think they were fractured." She pulled down her shirt, but both boys were still staring open mouthed at the spot where the bruises were.

George felt sick, he could not believe that Parkes was doing this to her. What gave him the right? He really liked Mackenzie, more than he had liked anyone before and knowing that he wasn't there to protect her or help her made him feel more guilt than ever before. She was so small and fragile and innocent and he swore to himself that from this moment on he would protect her with his life.

It was quiet for so long that when Fred spoke it caused her to jump. "Bloody hell Zee why didn't you tell us? We would have done something if we – "

Mackenzie put her hand up to silence him "That's exactly why I didn't tell you." She looked at George who had been silent the whole time. What she saw unnerved her. His face was as red as his hair, his teeth were grinding together, his hands were clenched into an amazingly tight fist and she saw fire and determination in his eyes. She had never seen him so mad.

"I'm going to kill him!" he shouted over and over again causing Mackenzie to flinch back from his tone and stumble back into Fred. He turned to walk away and find Parkes, but Mackenzie ran towards him, stopped him by placing her hand on his chest. She softly unclenched his hands before slipping her hand into his. The contact sent jolts of electricity through her hand and she revelled in the feel of his soft skin. She looked up and pleaded with her eyes. His eyes softened and he brought a hand up to her face and wiped a tear away that she hadn't even noticed, leaving a trail of tingles where his fingers were. "You can't kill him, what would I do if one of my best friends went to Azkaban?" she joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Besides we will get revenge with the pranks." She smirked when she saw a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Fred watched their interaction with an inward smile. His suspicions were slowly proving true. He had a feeling that his brother had a thing for Mackenzie, but decided he wouldn't say anything until George was ready to admit it himself.

Realising that she was still staring and holding his hand, she let go and stepped back. "So I can come to the Gryffindor Common Room tonight and start planning?"

"Yeah just come up straight after dinner."

"Okay well I have Muggle Studies now so I'll see you in Herbology later." She picked up her bag and began to walk to her first class but turned around at the last minute "Oh and Fred, keep an eye on your brother today, I'm not up to visiting Azkaban." She almost tripped over the uneven flooring causing the brothers to laugh. She was glad that they were back to normal now, even if it was at her expense. Smiling she turned around and walked away.


	16. Badger in the Lion's Den

**Hey readers!**

**I'm not very happy with this chapter, I re-wrote it multiple times but it didn't get any better so hopefully the chapter doesn't suck too much. I have to thank my friend Rhianna for helping with the chapter title. She actually suggested it a while ago for a previous chapter but I thought it fit this one better. So thanks! Anyway enough of my rambling, enjoy the chapter! **

**~DubGee **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

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><p>By the time it was dinner time in the Great Hall, Mackenzie was thinking about the events of the day.<p>

She felt a huge amount of relief at the fact that she had told Fred and George. She felt better knowing that someone else knew and she would be safer with them knowing. Sure their reactions weren't good, but she knew that they wouldn't do anything and she hadn't gotten any news about George going to Azkaban, so that was a definite plus.

Herbology had been one of the most awkward moments of her life. She has been paired with George for their class project. Everything would have been fine if her stomach hadn't been doing somersaults at their closeness. She fumbled with the equipment and stuttered her words. She practically ran out of the class, full of embarrassment, but she didn't miss the look of confusion on George's face. How was she going to face him in the Common Room? To make matters worse, Angelina had been burning holes in the back of her head with her eyes.

She was so mortified at her reaction to George that she didn't even taste the food that she was placing in her mouth. She gave up and pushed her food around her plate, waiting for Fred and George to go to the Common Room so she could leave.

She knew that Jessica was worried about her, but she just waved it off, giving her the excuse of stress.

"Mackenzie I know it isn't stress. You're my best friend I know there is something else bothering you."

She sighed exasperatedly at her friend. "You don't miss anything do you?" she smiled.

"No not really," her friend replied honestly, giggling before continuing to eat her food.

"I have to go, but I promise that we will have some girl time soon and I'll tell you what's bothering me. I just need time to process it myself." Jessica nodded at her in understanding and she got up from the table. "I'll see you in the Common Room later." Mackenzie gave her a quick, one armed hug and walked towards the exit.

She strode out of the Great Hall and into the corridors, her stomach filling with nervous butterflies. She didn't know why she was so nervous; they were only planning a few pranks and it wasn't like she didn't hang around them every day. She passed by a few students in the hall, who greeted her warmly.

She got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, who asked her for the password.

"I'm sorry, I don't know it," She replied shuffling her feet.

"I'm sorry deary, no password means no entry."

"But my friends are in there waiting for me, can't you just let me in?" she pleaded with her.

"No I can't. It's my duty to ensure that only people with the password can enter."

Mackenzie looked around the hall, hoping that there would be a Gryffindor student who would let her into the common room, but it was deserted. She gathered that they must still be at dinner.

"Okay look can you go in and get someone to come and let me in?" She was getting agitated at the stubborn portrait. Her friends were in there waiting and she was getting more nervous by the second.

After a moment of thought, the Fat Lady agreed and disappeared from her frame.

It wasn't long before the Fat Lady returned and the door clicked open. When it did, Mackenzie wished that she had just given up and walked away, because standing there was her brother Adrian.

She had second thoughts about this whole thing and just wanted to leave, but she couldn't do that to her friends and she wouldn't give Adrian the satisfaction.

"Mackenzie," he whispered, his voice cracking in sadness. He was sincerely hoping that she was here to see him and he would get his sister back.

She would not let him get to her so she stuck with being polite. "May I please come in?" she asked indicating inside the Common Room.

He closed his eyes at her tone of voice and she could clearly see the anguish on his face. "Please Mackenzie, just talk to me. I miss you,"he said, defeated and lowering his gaze to the stone flooring.

_I miss you too_she thought. She was fighting the urge to walk up to him and gather him into a bone crushing hug.

She fought hard to keep her own sadness out of her eyes. "Look Adrian if you don't let me in I'm just going to go." She sighed rubbing her temples. She waited a moment before turning to walk away. She would just talk to Fred and George tomorrow and explain to them what happened.

As she turned Adrian grabbed her wrists and she yelped out in pain. He let go of her wrists as though he has been burned. "What? What's wrong?" he asked her frantically. Although he had a feeling that he already knew.

Mackenzie narrowed her eyes at him. "Why should I tell you? You don't care." The words left her mouth before she could stop them and she automatically regretted it.

"Do not tell me that I don't care. I care about you more than anything else in the world!" He grabbed her arms and pulled her sleeves up. She tried desperately to stop him but it was no use. She heard a low growl escape his lips.

"How the hell did this happen? And when?" he forced out through his angry ragged breaths. Mackenzie yanked her arms free and pulled her sleeves back down.

"It's not your business anymore Adrian," she spat at him. "You probably just want more gossip to tell your friends. I'm leaving." She threw her arms in the air and once again turned to walk away.

"I have a right to know Mackenzie, I'm your brother!" Adrian shouted at her. He regretted yelling straight away because he knew that Mackenzie hated it when he did.

She spun to face him causing her long hair to whip out wildly and stomped her way back to him.

"No Adrian," she spat harshly. "You lost that right when you went and told my business to some random girl."

"She isn't a random girl," he mumbled, confusing her.

"What? What do you mean?" She asked furrowing her eyebrows.

"Nothing. It was nothing," he said hastily, not wanting to let her know yet, especially when she was this mad at him. She would only hate him more when she found out.

"Fine, whatever. The point is that you broke a promise; which by the way hurt me more than anything." She didn't miss the look of hurt in his eyes as she said this. "Now, are you going to let me in? My friends are waiting for me."

Adrian didn't know what to say, so he just moved to the side and motioned her in. She walked passed him, careful to make no contact.

She sat on the couch across from Fred and George and smiled at them. The fight she had with her brother just now made her forget all about her nerves. Out of the corner of her eye she watched her brother take one more glance at her before heading up the stairs. Her smile faltered when she saw Angelina come and sit next to George. She felt jealousy flare up in the pit of her stomach and Angelina sent her a smug, knowing look. She tried her best to ignore her as they all got started with the plans. She didn't want Angelina to even know about the plans let alone be involved in them, but at the moment she had no choice.

An hour into their planning session, Mackenzie decided that it was time for her to leave. She was super tired and had been yawning non-stop for the last twenty minutes. She hadn't even felt nervous around George. He was so laid back and easy to be around, it was one of the things that she loved about him. She stiffened at the word love. Since when did that happen?

"Well time for me to go guys, I'll come back another time and we'll plan more details." If she was being honest she just wanted to get away from Angelina and her obvious flirting with _her_George.

Wait. _Her George?_ Merlin, she was going crazy. She shook her head clear of these thoughts and stood up, stretching the kinks out of her body. Her shirt pulled up a little at the hem revealing her flat stomach and she caught George staring. She blushed a deep crimson and pulled it down hastily.

"Wait, I have one more prank idea." Fred sat forward in his chair. "We could put him in George's bed and when he wakes up he will be so horrified at George's ugly face that he will need to go to St. Mungo's!" He raised his eyebrows expectantly, awaiting their thoughts on his idea.

"Ugly? Who are you calling ugly? We are identical twins stupid!" George said.

"But clearly I am the better looking twin."

Mackenzie couldn't help but giggle. "Fred shut up, that's the worst idea I've heard."

Fred let his jaw drop, feigning hurt before smiling as he and George stood up and walked over to the portrait hole.

"Where are you guys going?" she asked walking over.

"We are walking you to your Common Room of course," George said in a tone that suggested it was obvious as to what they were doing.

"You guys don't have to do that, I'm a big girl."

Both boys looked at her as if she were crazy. "Of course we have to!" they said in unison.

"If we let you go by yourself and Parkes or one of his cronies are lingering about and you get hurt, we would never forgive ourselves."

Mackenzie blushed as she noted the sincerity in George's voice. "Aww you guys!" she ran up to them and hugged them both.

"Well my lady shall we go? I'm sure the Hufflepuff in you wants to get back before curfew." Fred bowed down low before offering her his arm. George soon followed suit and offered his other arm. She gave them a small curtsy before threading her arms through theirs, laughing all the while.

They walked out of the portrait hole and Mackenzie turned to give Angelina a smug smirk before she huffed and stomped up the stairs.

As they were walking through the deserted halls, discussing their prank plans, Fred didn't miss the small glances that George and Mackenzie gave each other.

When they got to the entrance of the Hufflepuff Common Room, the boys let go of Mackenzie's arms and Fred took Mackenzie's hand and placed a small chaste kiss on it.

"Wow Fred, I didn't know you were such a romantic," she joked.

Fred gave her a satisfied grin. "Oh you know, that's just the way I am."

"Well thanks for walking me down here guys, but you should get back before Filch catches you."

"Zee I am not afraid of Filch, we run circles around that oaf." He turned and walked away shouting down the hall. "See ya Zee!"

Mackenzie stiffened when she felt George place his lips on her cheek, giving it a small but sweet kiss. "Goodnight Mackenzie, you better have sweet dreams about me." He winked before walking away to catch up with his brother.

Mackenzie brought her hand up to touch her cheek that was still tingling from the contact. 'Take that Angelina crush-stealing Johnson'.

She walked into the dorms with a smile on her face and plopped onto her bed, letting her eyelids close, being the happiest she'd been in a while


	17. The Beast

Mackenzie woke on Saturday morning by being shaken and hearing her name shouted repeatedly.

She groaned into her pillow and lifted her head, facing the glaring early morning sun and Jessica standing over her.

"Come on Mackenzie get up. Fred and George are downstairs waiting to walk us to breakfast." She continued to shake Mackenzie before giving up and pulling the covers off of the bed.

"Jess!" Mackenzie whined. "What did you do that for?" She buried her face back into the pillow before hearing Jessica stomp across the floor. The next thing she knew, she felt a pillow being thrown into the back of her head.

"I said get up! If you don't get up right this minute I'm going to send an Aguamenti your way," Jessica huffed, tapping her foot on the wooden floor.

Realising that Jessica was not going to leave her alone, Mackenzie sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Looking up, she saw that Jess was still standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. "Okay Jess, I'm getting up. Just give me twenty minutes and I'll be down."

Mackenzie stood up and stretched her body, hearing her bones crack in a couple of places, before walking groggily into the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.

Approximately twenty minutes later she walked downstairs and was greeted with her three best friends laughing in the Common Room. "Well I can see that I wasn't missed at all," she joked, walking over to hug the boys.

For the two weeks since they started planning the pranks, Fred and George hadn't let her or Jess go anywhere alone in case Parkes showed up and tried something. Mackenzie had a suspicion that Fred was starting to like Jess more than everyone thought. She was worried that Jess wouldn't feel the same, considering the way she acted when she was partnered with Cedric Diggory in Potions, but she would deal with that later, when the time came.

"Of course we missed you Kenzie," George winked, putting his arm across her shoulders.

"Mackenzie! You said you would be twenty minutes, it's been twenty-six minutes!" Jessica yelled. Mackenzie raised her eyebrow at her reaction.

"Jeez Jess, it's only six minutes more than I said I would be. Besides I'm here now," she said, simply shrugging.

"Well I'm hungry and these two," she said, pointing to Fred and George. "Wouldn't let me go down to the Great Hall until you were down here."

"Well if you're so hungry let's go then."

"Finally." Jess sighed before dragging Mackenzie out of the Common Room. The group walked to the Great Hall, taking their time because they didn't have any classes today.

Walking into the Great Hall, they ran into Adrian and his group of friends. The anguish was clearly written all over his face, but Mackenzie pretended that she didn't see him and continued on walking.

George didn't miss the hurt look in both siblings' eyes and he knew that Mackenzie missed her brother. Apart from Jess, Fred and himself, Adrian was all she had and he knew that he has to do something about it. He hated to see her hurting.

"Mackenzie, you should talk to him, You've been ignoring him for three weeks now, the bloke is hurting." It's true that he was hurting. Every night he would ask Fred and George about her, even the little things like what classes she had that day and what she had done in her free time. He was mostly concerned about Parkes though, but the boys assured him that they were making sure nothing happened to her.

"And you think I'm not hurting? I told you the story so you know what he did. He deserves it." He couldn't deny that what he had done was wrong, but the guy was beating himself up enough without having his sister hating him. They were as close as Fred and himself were, and if Fred had stopped talking to him, he knew he wouldn't be able to handle it.

George didn't know what to say, so Fred took over. "We know what he did Mackenzie, but you told him something major, you were getting hurt and you told him that he couldn't tell anyone. He cares about you and he didn't know what else to do. You put a lot on his shoulders by telling him as well." He used her full first name to show her that he was serious.

They knew they were getting through to her when they saw her eyes soften and her eyebrows creased.

"He asks us how you are every day Zee."

Mackenzie knew how much she was hurting her brother, she was hurting too. She missed him a lot. They used to be so close and now she hasn't spoken to him for more than two weeks. She knew she should forgive him, but she was still so mad at him.

She didn't want to talk about it anymore so she sat down and silently started eating her breakfast. She could feel the unshed tears stinging her eyes, so she stood up and stated that she was going to the bathroom.

George immediately stood up to walk her, when she held her hands up to stop him in his tracks. "I can walk to the bathroom myself, I'll be fine." Rolling her eyes she turned and walked out of the Hall, trying her hardest to contain her tears until she was alone in the bathroom.

She regretted not letting George walk her when she heard a voice that stopped her heart cold. Parkes.

"Well well well Robins, where are your red-headed body guards today? Couldn't stand to be around you anymore?"

She simply ignored him and continued walking towards the bathroom.

"Oi! I asked you a question." His voice was becoming louder and she knew he was catching up to her so she quickened her pace. She could see the door to the bathroom and prayed she would get there before he caught up.

She hear footsteps right behind her and the next minute she was pulled back and pushed harshly into the stone wall. She winced as the stone scratched her skin and tried her best to ignore the stinging.

"I was talking to you Robins, and no one ignores me."

She looked up and saw that Parkes wasn't alone. He had Higgs on his left and Pucey on his right. Her breath quickened in fear and she hoped that someone would walk by soon. She was terrified at thoughts of what Parkes and his cronies would do.

She gathered all the courage she had and swallowed her fears. "Leave me alone Parkes." She hoped that her voice would come off strong, but her voice was shaking in fear. She looked around her, thinking of a way to escape. She felt for her wand before remembering that she had left it in her coat which was in the Great Hall. She cursed herself before returning her attention back to Parkes, not wanting to give him an advantage at having her distracted.

Parkes and his cronies laughed at her request. "What are you going to do if I don't huh? Go tell mummy and daddy?" Mackenzie flinched at the word daddy and it did not go unnoticed by Parkes.

"Have some daddy issues Robins? Let me guess. You are such a disappointment to him that he refuses to acknowledge you as his daughter. Am I right?"

Mackenzie couldn't stop the tears from escaping and running down her face. Parkes' teasing was just to much to handle and she broke down.

"Pathetic," she heard him mumble. He pushed her to the ground and towered over her. "This is far from over Robins." Pucey and Higgs snickers and the three of them walked away.

Mackenzie lay there crying for a moment and the proceeded to the bathroom to clean herself up.

Walking back to her friends she plastered a fake smile onto her face and assured them that nothing had happened. Unbeknownst to her, Jessica saw right through her facade and came to the decision that if Mackenzie didn't come to her and tell her soon then she was going to force some answers out of her.

Later that night, Jessica was woken from her deep sleep by the ear piercing screams coming from Mackenzie's bed. She jumped out of her own bed and ran over to Mackenzie's bed, flinging open the curtains.

Mackenzie was thrashing around and she had tears running down her face. Panicking, Jessica began vigorously shaking Mackenzie in an attempt to wake her.

"Mackenzie...Mackenzie!" The shouting of her name seemed to waken her and she shot up to a sitting position crying uncontrollably. At a loss of what to do, Jessica sat down on her best friends bed and cupped Mackenzie's face in both of her hands.

Mackenzie looked up at Jessica and attempted to speak. "Adrian...Adrian...I need." She mumbled frantically.

"Mackenzie, try and calm down sweetie I can't understand what you're saying," Jessica spoke as calmly as she could. She had no clue what was happening and she prayed that Mackenzie would be fine soon.

Mackenzie took an unsteady breath though her sobs and tried again. "I need you to g-go and get A-Adrian." She took another breath to try and reduce her sobs. "Tell him I s-said '_Bete'_"

'What the hell?' Jessica thought to herself. How was she going to get Adrian when it was three o'clock in the morning? Mackenzie's sobs increased and Jessica jumped up "Okay, I'll go get him, but he won't be able to come to the girl's dorm. Come with me into the CommonRoom." She helped her friend stand up and walked her to the Common Room. "Here you sit here on the couch and I'll be back as soon as I can.

She ran back to the dormitory and grabbed her wand before racing into the Common Room and, taking another look at Mackenzie who was sitting on the couch rocking back and forth, mumbling her brother's name and the French word over and over again, still hysterically sobbing.

She cast a _Lumos_as she ran down the dark corridors, ignoring all the protests from the sleepy portraits and was glad when she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, who was sleeping. She looked around frantically before deciding to just wake the portrait up. She hastily knocked on the portrait frame until she woke up.

"Merlin child, why are you banging on my frame at this ungodly hour?" she groaned, annoyed.

"Please, I need you to go into the Common Room and wake up Adrian Robins."

"It's the middle of the night. He's sleeping."

"I know that! But this is urgent you must go get him," She pleaded with her and sighed with relief as she disappeared from her frame.

Not too long after, the portrait opened and out walked a sleepy Adrian. His surprised face at seeing Jessica here soon changed to panic as he wondered why she was here.

"Adrian thank god! You need to come quick. Mackenzie, s-she...she woke up hysterically crying and I couldn't calm her down she told me to come and get you. She said to tell you '_bete'."_

Adrian's eyes widened as he ran back into the Common Room muttering "Oh-no." Jess was confused as to why he walked back in, and was about to yell after him until she saw him walking back out carrying a Muggle guitar and raced down the hall towards the HufflepuffCommon Room.

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><p><strong>The word <em>bete <em>is beast in Frech (I hope, I used google translate haha) this word and the title of this chapter will be explained later on in the story. Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have to thank my amazing editor who got my chapter back to me, fully edited, two hours after I sent it to her. Let me know what you think. **

**~Alyssa**


	18. I will never be far

**Well It's been three weeks since my last update but here is the new chapter. This one is written in Adrian's perspective, it's not that long but I hope you still enjoy it :)**

**R&R**

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><p>Rushing through the halls of Hogwarts, all Adrian could hear was the slapping of his bare feet against the cold stone floor, his rapidly beating heart, and Jessica rushing to keep up with him.<p>

He was consumed with panic and could think of nothing other than his sister. He knew from experience that she would be terrified right now, and that Jessica's explanation of what happened was only mild compared to what was actually happening.

Mackenzie used to wake up screaming several nights a week over the same dream and he would go in and play his guitar until she calmed down and went back to sleep. For some reason, he was the only one who could calm her down. For the first few weeks of her time at Hogwarts, it hadn't happened and Adrian was glad about that. He had thought that maybe it wouldn't happen again, but he obviously thought wrong. It hadn't happened for months, so something must have happened to trigger it.

He stopped at the entrance to the Hufflepuff Common Room and waited anxiously for Jessica to let him in. He gathered that Jessica was just as worried as he was when he saw the look of fear on her face.

When he was finally let in he turned to Jessica. "Where is she?"

"Oh my God, she was on the couch." She pointed to the exact spot that she left her and started panicking at the sight of the empty couch. "I swear, I left her right there Adrian."

"I know, she's most likely hiding somewhere. Go into the Girl's Dormitory and check if she's there." As he watched Jessica run through to the dorm he ran his hands through his hair. He knew she wouldn't be in the Boy's Dorm because she wasn't allowed in there.

He frantically searched around the Common Room, and when he found her, his heart broke. She was sitting in a dark corner with her knees pulled up to her chest and her face hidden by her arms. He hated seeing her like this, and he felt so helpless. He was supposed to protect her, and here she was hiding in her own Common Room.

He could see her visibly shaking in fear and started walking slowly towards her. At that moment he heard Jessica run back into the room.

"I couldn't find her anywhere, I even checked the bathroom and she – Oh my God you found her. Why is she hiding like that?" she asked,the panic obvious in her voice.

"Because she's scared. I can't tell you why, because she would want to tell you herself." He put his guitar down on the couch and continued walking towards her.

When he reached her, he softly touched her arm "Mackenzie?" When she felt the touch on her arm, she flinched back further into the corner and let out a scream.

"Shhh, c'est juste moi princesse," he stated and watched as she slowly lifted her head. Her terrified eyes filled with more tears.

When she figured out that it was him, Mackenzie started sobbing and threw herself into Adrian's arms, wrapping her arms tight around his neck and hiding her face in his shirt, soaking it with her tears.

Adrian didn't know what to feel, happy that his sister was hugging him or sad that she was so scared and upset. What she said next made the decision for him.

"He's going to get me Ade, _bete_ is going to get me!" she wailed. The use of his nickname and the extent to which she was frightened almost caused Adrian to cry.

He wrapped his arms tighter around her and whispered into her ear. "He's not going to get you Kenzie, you're at Hogwarts, and I'm here, you're safe."

He tried to stand up, but her grip on him was too strong. "Mackenzie, honey you need to let go so I can stand up." Her grip only got tighter. "Kenzie I'm not going anywhere, just let go for a moment."

She reluctantly let go and he stood up before picking her up bridal style and carrying her to the couch. Jessica was still standing there in complete shock as she watched what was happening. Knowing where he was taking Mackenzie, Jessica quickly picked up the guitar so he could lay Mackenzie down.

He walked over to the other side of the couch to Jessica, who had a death grip on his guitar. He gently touched her hand, snapping her out of it. She loosened her grip and let him take it looking down at her best friend with tears forming in her eyes.

Moving around to sit on the floor by Mackenzie's head, Adrian started strumming his guitar. The familiar sound calmed Mackenzie's sobs immediately. From the corner of his eye he watched as Jessica settled herself into the armchair next to the couch.

As her brother's soothing voice started singing along to the music, she very slowly started drifting back off to sleep.

_Bonne nuit, mon ange_

_Temps de fermer les yeux_

_Et enregistrez ces questions pour un autre jour_

The words were so familiar to Adrian that he didn't have to think about them before he sung them.

_Je pense savoir ce que vous m'avez demandé_

_Je pense que vous savez ce que j'ai essayé de dire_

_J'ai promis de ne jamais vous laissez_

_Et vous devez toujours savoir_

_Partout où vous pouvez aller_

_Peu importe où vous êtes_

_Je ne serai jamais loin_

As the song finished, he looked up at his sister and noticed that she was almost asleep. He sighed in relief and continued strumming his guitar until he knew for certain that she was asleep.

"You act as if you've done this plenty of times." Jessica piped up, the relief clear in her voice.

Adrian sighed and stopped playing the guitar, turning his head towards her, "That's because I have. Whenever I'm not at school, I have to do it almost every night."

"Why is that?" she asked curiously.

"That's not really my story to tell. I'm sure Kenzie will tell you soon. Just give her some time." He gave her a soft smile which she returned.

"Why did you talk to her in French?"

"Our mother is part French, so as we grew up the language sort of caught on. It's how she knows that it's me." He looked at his sister's sleeping form and loved the calm and peaceful look on her face.

Hearing Jessica yawn, he chuckled. "You should go and get some sleep now." Jess looked uncertainly at her friend. "She'll be fine now, I'll stay with her."

Still unsure, Jessica nodded and stood up and walked towards to dorm. Adrian stood up careful not to disturb his sister and walked over to Jessica.

"Jess." At the sound of her name she turned on her hells and was enveloped into a huge hug. "Thank you for taking care of her, and for coming to get me." Hearing the sincerity in his voice, she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You're welcome, you're a great big brother you know. She's missed you terribly these last three weeks," she told him honestly.

Stepping back, Adrian looked skeptically at her. "Yeah right. She hates me right now. The only reason she asked you to come and get me is because she was scared and not thinking straight." He hoped this wasn't true, but he had a feeling that it was.

"Don't be so sure," she stated simply before giving him another quick hug and walking to the dorm. "By the way Adrian, what does _bete _mean?

Adrian closed his eyes tightly. "It means _beast_." He walked back to his sister and pushed a lock of her hair out of her face, placing a small kiss on her cheek. "I'll always be here for you Kenzie; even if you hate me again in the morning."

He walked over to the armchair that Jessica occupied moments ago and got himself comfortable. He thought about what Jess had said before about Mackenzie missing him and couldn't help but be happy about it. He hoped that she would forgive him, but he was worried that the only reason she asked for him was because it was routine.

His eyes started drifting closed and he decided that he would leave tomorrow before she woke up, in case she still hated him.

Whatever she decided he would always be there for her.

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><p>- <em>bete<em> **means beast in French.**

**- Goodnight, my angel**

**Time to close your eyes**

**And save these questions for another day**

**I think what you asked me**

**I think you know what I tried to say**

**I promised never to leave**

**And you should always know**

**Wherever you may go**

**No matter where you are**

**I'll never be far **

**(These are the english words to the French song Adrian was singing) I did not write this song, I actually saw it in another fic and thought it fit with this chapter. I'm not sure what the fic was called but I just want to say that I don't own it.**

**Until next time lovelies**


	19. Forgiveness is Divine

**Chapter 19: **Forgiveness is Divine

Mackenzie woke with pain shooting through her neck and back. Opening her eyes, she found that the reason she was in pain was because she had fallen asleep on the couch. She couldn't remember why she had fallen asleep there, but she wished that she didn't.

Sitting up, she attempted to rub the pain in her neck away but it didn't work. The Common Room only had a few people in it, but they paid no attention to her, and for that she was glad.

She stood up and stretched out her body, causing the bones in her back to crack multiple times, relieving some of the pain.

She turned to walk to the bathroom to shower, but a piece of parchment on the table caught her eye. It had her name on it, so she turned it over. She recognised her brother's messy scrawl straight away and her heart started beating rapidly.

_I will never be far away_

_Adrian_

Tears sprang to her eyes as she slowly remembered the events of last night. The screaming, the crying, asking Jess to go get Adrian, the familiar sound of the strumming guitar, but most of all she remembered her haunting dream. Something like that hadn't happened since she started at Hogwarts, it must have been Parkes' mentioning of her father yesterday. She felt so bad for Jess, she must have been terrified last night, and Adrian, she's been having nightmares for the last three years and Adrian was the only one who could calm her down. No matter what he was doing or what time it was he would drop everything and come sit with her to help her sleep. Now even when she was treating him so badly he had still come in the middle of the night to calm her down and help her sleep. He really was the best big brother ever and she took that for granted sometimes. She decided that she was going to forgive him today, she missed him terribly.

The tears were now falling freely down her face and she hastily wiped them away before pocketing the note and making her way through to the girls dorm, where Jess was just waking up.

"Hey Jess," she said, giving her friend a small smile. She was glad that at least Jess went back to sleep.

Jess' eyes widened and she sat straight up, throwing the blankets off and running over to Mackenzie, barrelling into her almost knocking her to the hard floor. "Oh Merlin, are you okay? I was so worried about you last night. Wait, you're not going to freak out on me again are you?" she asked, stepping back and slowly walking away.

"No I'm not going to freak out on you." Mackenzie said laughing.

The relief was clear on Jessica's face and she let out a breath that she didn't know Jess was holding in.

"Thank Merlin for that, that was the scariest experience I've ever had in my life. You were thrashing around in your bed, hiding in corners, sobbing uncontrollably; I couldn't calm you down."

"I know, I'm really sorry that you had to see me like that Jess. I'm just as surprised that it happened as you are. Thank you for going to get my brother. I must have been a complete mess."

"Hey, what are friends for?" She smiled. "And yes, you did look like a complete mess."

Mackenzie swatted her arm and pulled her into a tight hug. "You're the best friend ever Jess."

"Oh, I know I am," Jess said, causing both girls to start laughing. "What was happening? I mean obviously you were having a nightmare, but I've never seen anyone react that way to a dream before."

Mackenzie faltered. She wanted to tell her, but she just wasn't ready yet. "It's really hard to talk about it Jess, but I promise I will tell you soon, I just need some time."

"That's what Adrian told me. He was really good with you last night, calmed you down almost straight away."

"I know, he was great, he's been doing it for almost three years now, and I feel terrible every time it happens." She felt so guilty every time he had to lose sleep over it.

Jess frowned in confusion "If he's the only one who can calm you down, what happened while he was at school and you weren't."

She hadn't told anyone this before, but she felt that she had to tell Jess to make up for all the things that she wasn't telling her. "Well, when it would happen my mum would have to contact the school and Adrian would Floo over until I fell back to sleep."

Jess nodded in understanding and suggested that they should get ready.

They proceeded to get dressed and ready for a full day of classes. Pulling on her Hufflepuff cloak, Mackenzie grabbed her satchel and continued through the tunnels to leave the Common Room. As usual Fred and George greeted them outside and they walked through the halls, listening to Jess whine about being hungry.

"Jess we'll be there in a couple of minutes," Mackenzie chuckled.

Her chuckling stopped suddenly and she ceased walking. Her friends continued to walk until they realised Mackenzie wasn't walking beside them.

"Mackenzie, what is it?" George asked her, his voice laced with concern at her abrupt stop.

She ignored everything around her and stared straight ahead at her brother who was standing further down the hall talking with his group of friends. He hadn't noticed her yet but she dropped her bag and started sprinting down the hall towards him, tears filling her eyes, leaving her friends confused.

He must have heard her because he turned his head just in time for her to slam into him, wrapping her arms tight around his neck. He couldn't really breathe, but he didn't care, his sister was hugging him, so he wrapped his arms around her middle and squeezed her just as tight.

Mackenzie started sobbing into his shoulder, soaking his shirt with tears; she was doing that a lot lately. She felt so safe around him and she had missed him so much these last few weeks. His familiar scent filled her nose and she gave a small smile through her tears.

"I'm so sorry Adrian, I was horrible to you and you still helped me last night. I missed you so much! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" she wailed.

Adrian struggles to keep his own tears in and he grabbed her tighter. "Hey shh, you don't need to be sorry. I'm the one who should be sorry. You trusted me and I broke that trust and a promise. I didn't want to hurt you or make you hate me I just didn't know what else to do." He was so happy that she didn't hate him anymore.

Mackenzie stepped back and Adrian wiped the tears off of her face. Looking at his face she noticed he has black circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. "I never hated you Adrian I was mad. I realise now that I put a lot on your shoulders as well and you were only trying to help me."

"So you forgive me?" he asked her hopefully.

How could she say no to him and keep being mad at him when he is always there for her? He had given up so much for her over the years and wanted nothing in return. She gave him a watery smile and nodded her head yes.

Adrian picked her up and spun her in a circle, laughing happily. When she got put down her stomach made itself known and growled hungrily.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," Adrian joked. "Why don't you come sit with me today?"

Mackenzie looked back at her friends who were still standing further down with smiles on their faces, happy that she was talking to her brother again. She wanted to sit with Adrian, but she didn't want to ditch her friends, they had been so good to her.

Noticing where his sister was looking and realising her train of thought, he suggested that they sit with them also.

Mackenzie smiled widely and nodded eagerly, running back to her friends. When she reached them, the smiles were gone and a worried look was there instead. "What's wrong guys? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Jess told us what happened last night Kenzie," George said, walking up to her and gathering her into a comforting hug, causing Mackenzie to blush a bright crimson.

"I'm fine now, I'll tell you about it some other time. Right now I'm starving and I need some breakfast.

George reluctantly let her go and stepped back to lean against the wall. He was relieved when he saw her run up and hug her brother, she looked so much happier now. "I see you finally made up with your brother," he said, smiling to show her that he was happy about that.

"Yeah, he wants me to sit with him at breakfast this morning and he said you guys should come sit with us too."

When they agreed, George picked up Mackenzie's bag and carried it for her. Fred did the same for Jess and both boys draped their arms over the girls' shoulders.

Mackenzie and Jess looked at each other blushing and smiled at each other squealing internally.

This was going to be a good day.


	20. Flushing With Happiness

**Well it's been a while since my last update and I apologise for that.I had a really bad case of writers block for about 2 weeks and then I sat down to write and the words literally spilled out of my mind which I loved. This chapter is almost 3000 words so I hope you like it :) Hopefully the next update won't be as long a wait as this one.**

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><p>Today was April the 1st; it was the day that Mackenzie was looking forward to and dreading, both at the same time. Why was she dreading it, you say? Well, for the simple fact that not only did it give everyone an excuse to play pranks on each other, but it gave Fred and George more opportunities to play pranks. Not just their simple ones, no. They were going to go all out today. She was looking forward to it because it was the twins' birthday, and she and Jess had planned something for them that she knew they were both going to love.<p>

She and Jessica had been brainstorming for weeks before today, trying to come up with the perfect gift for them. Seeing as they were first years, they weren't allowed to go into Hogsmeade to purchase a gift for them, so they had to get creative. Many of their suggestions were ruled out early on in the process. It wasn't until last week that they finally came up with the best plan. There was a chance that they would get caught and get in trouble, but she didn't care at the moment.

Mackenzie was excited to get their plan into action, but first her and Jess needed to go down to the kitchens. They woke up super early that morning so that they were at the Gryffindor Common Room before the boys came out.

Shutting off her alarm, she threw off her blankets and rushed into the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. She was hoping that the hot water would relax her and clear her mind. It didn't work, however, as she was too excited for her own good. She couldn't wait to see their reactions to their gift.

She stepped carefully out of the shower, trying not to slip on the wet floor, and wrapped a towel around herself. She dried her hair by casting a drying spell with her wand. She used the Accio to get her clothes, which consisted of her black skinny jeans, her shirt that the twins had gotten her for Christmas with a picture of a snitch that said 'Catch me if you can', and her blue and white Nike high tops. She finished off by pulling her hair into a ponytail.

She skipped back into the dorm and over to Jessica's bed. She flung open the curtains and jumped up onto her bed, bouncing up and down. "It's time to wake up Jess!"

"Not now Mackenzie, just five more minutes," she grumbled, burying her face in the pillow and pulling the blanket over her head. Mackenzie was not going to have that, she was too excited and would not let Jess ruin their plans. She pulled the blankets away and continued jumping.

"No, now Jess, hurry up we have to go down to the kitchens remember?"

Jess groaned and sat up. rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She frowned and looked up at Mackenzie, who then plopped herself into a sitting position on the end of the bed.

"Jeez Mackenzie, you're a bit hyper today don't you think? It's too early in the morning for that."

Mackenzie couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Yes I know it's early Jess, but that's the point. It's part of our plans. Now get up, shower and dress so we can go down to the kitchens. She stood up and skipped through the tunnel to go into the Common Room.

"She is too happy for her own good this early in the morning,"Jess mumbled before getting up and walking into the bathroom.

Half an hour later they were both making their way through the empty halls between the Common Room and the kitchens. That was one of the good things about having the Hufflepuff Common Room down here; it was close to the kitchens.

Mackenzie tickled the pear and it turned into a door handle, which she turned and walked through the doorway, only to be met by thehouse-elf she had spoken to last night.

"Hello Miss Robins! How can Oopsie helps you today?"

Mackenzie looked down at the hyper elf and smiled at her. "Hello Oopsie. I came in last night and asked if you were able to make some cupcakes for me, do you remember?"

The elf smiled kindly at her. "Of course miss, Oopsie remembers Miss, the cupcakes are right over here." She scurried off, her ears flopping with every step she took, which Mackenzie found quite adorable.

About a minute later, Oopsie came back holding a plate that was holding two cupcakes decorated in red and gold. She offered Mackenzie the plate, who took it and brought it closer to her face and breathed in the scent of the freshly made cupcakes. She closed her eyes because they smelled divine.

Noticing that Mackenzie had closed her eyes, the elf was worried that she did something wrong. "Is Miss not happy with the cupcakes? Oopsie can try again, if Miss wants me too." The elves voice shook with worry at displeasing her, so Mackenzie was quick to assure her.

"No no no, they look and smell fantastic Oopsie. You did a brilliant job. Thank you." Mackenzie gave the plate to Jess and bent down to give the elf a hug of thanks. When she stepped back the elves sea green eyes were wide and teary. She then noticed that all she was wearing was a brown potato sack.

She took out her wand and pointed it at the elf, who cowered back in fear of being hurt. "Oh no, I'm not going to hurt you Oopsie, I'm just going to do something for you." The elf was still suspicious but chose to trust Mackenzie. She remembered a spell that she had read about in a book from the library that fashion designers used when making robes and ball gowns.

She pointed her wand at the brown sack "Floralibus Exemplar." After she muttered the incantation the material softened into a smooth fabric, the brown turned into a pure clean white colour and intricate designs of grey vines and pink flowers started forming to cover the new material.

"Does that feel better Oopsie?" she asked the elf, whose eyes were as wide as saucers.

The elf took a minute to get over the shock and inspect her new outfit further before answering. "Y-yes Miss, Oopsie thanks you Miss, but does this mean that I have to leave Hogwarts?" she asked, panic rising in her voice.

"You're welcome Oopsie, and of course you don't need to leave Hogwarts! I didn't give you clothing, I just changed the ones you already had. I thought it would make you more comfortable," Mackenzie explained, noticing the elf sigh in relief. "Thank you again for the cupcakes; they look lovely."

"Anytime Miss Robins. Oopsie is happy to help."

Mackenzie took the plate back from Jessica and took the cupcakes away, leaving the plate on the counter. She handed one of the cakes to Jessica as she walked out of the kitchen, waving to the house elves who were preparing breakfast.

"Where did you learn to do that spell? I've never even heard of it before," Jessica asked, shocked.

Mackenzie shrugged, and looked at all of the sleeping portraits. "I've read almost every spell book in the library twice; I've learned a few things." She didn't think it was a big deal; it seemed like a very simple spell. She couldn't figure out why Jessica was so shocked at the fact that she knew it.

"You really are a bookworm," Jessica chuckled.

As they were walking up the many staircases towards the Gryffindor Common Room, they talked eagerly about what kind of pranks that they could play on Fred and George today. They laughed loudly at each others' suggestions, resulting in them being shushed by the annoyed portraits.

The girls knew almost exactly when the boys would come out into the halls because they would always get to the Hufflepuff Common Room at the same time every day to meet them. All they had to do was wait.

Five minutes later, they heard voices coming from the other side of the door and instantly recognised them as Fred and George. As the portrait swung open and the boys walked out, the girls held out the cupcakes and yelled, "Happy Birthday!"

The boy's stopped in their tracks and looked up surprised. "Well hello ladies," they said together. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing up here?" George asked.

"Wishing you happy birthday of course, we thought we would come and meet you today instead of the other way around." Mackenzie gave them a wide smile and handed George his cupcake while Jessica handed the one she was holding to Fred.

"How did you know?" they asked in unison.

"We know because we are just that fantastic," Jess stated as if it were obvious. "Don't you just love us?" she asked sarcastically.

Both girls could have sworn they heard them both mumble "yes we do." They decided to ignore it.

"Come on let's go down to breakfast, I'm starving," Jess said dramatically, causing Mackenzie to roll her eyes.

"You're always hungry," she and George said at the same time. The four of them burst into laughter and made their way down to the Great Hall.

As they were eating breakfast the boys had said that other than the occasional prank, they didn't have anything planned for them to do today. Mackenzie and Jess looked at each other grinning because this meant they could carry out their plan.

"Well, Jess and I have the perfect surprise gift, or should I say _gifts,_for you that we know you are going to really like."

"Oh, I'm excited now Georgie, what do you think it is?" Fred asked his brother.

"Hmm I don't know Fred. Maybe an international supermodel, or a nice looking female Quidditch player from the Harpies," he joked.

Mackenzie couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy in the pit of her stomach as he said this, even though she knew he was joking. It hurt more than she thought it would. Pushing the jealousy away, she acted like she didn't care. "No, it's not a supermodel or a Quidditch player, but I'm sure you will like it just as much."

While they were finishing off their breakfast, Mackenzie was plagued with thoughts of how her emotions and thoughts were changing the more she spent time with George. She had never felt like this before; at times she felt that she craved his company and it worried her. She didn't know how to deal with those kinds of feelings. She was becoming jealous of even the smallest things, and the situation with Angelina was not helping at all.

Sighing, she decided that it was time to give them their gift before the halls became too crowded. "Okay guys, let's go get your gift." She smiled at the boys, then stood up, linking her arms with Jessica. She turned and looked over her shoulder at the boys who were walking not far behind. "Just follow us."

They reached their destination and walked into the room. The girl turned on their heels to face the boys, who were looking around the room with confused looks on their faces.

"Um, Zee, why are we in the boys lavatory?"

Mackenzie couldn't help her excitement and gave a little squeal before telling them what was happening. "Well, we know how much you like to destroy things, and I heard what your mother said at the train station at the beginning of the year. So your first gift from us is that you get to blow up the bathroom," she explained, clapping.

At first, Fred and George were too shocked to say anything. Then Fred started asking questions. "That sounds great Zee, and you were right we do love the gift, but how are we going to avoid getting caught?"

Mackenzie didn't hesitate in answering because she and Jess had already sorted all of this out. "Well, I'm going to put a silencing spell around the bathroom so that only the people inside the room, which is you guys, will be able to hear anything. No one outside of the bathroom will be able to hear you and there will be a sign that tells them to stay out of here. I will be standing just outside the door." As she explained the details, Fred and George got more excited.

"Also, Jessica will be patrolling the hallways around here for any teachers, or Filch for that matter, and she will let me know so that I can come in and get you guys out of here." Both Mackenzie and Jessica smiled proudly at the effort and work they had put into planning this.

"How will Jess be able to tell you if she walking in the halls?" Fred asked again.

If possible, Mackenzie's smile got wider as she started to explain how that would work. She picked up a silver necklace that was clasped around her neck. The necklace has a plain circle shaped charm on it and had her initials engraved onto the front. "See this necklace?" she asked.

Both boys nodded and she continued on. "Well Jess has the exact same one except hers has her initials. When we were planning this, I remembered a book on spells that I had read, so now these necklaces have the Protean Charm placed on them. If Jess needs to tell me something the necklace will burn and a message will appear on the back," she explained, grinning proudly.

"You truly are brilliant," George stated matter-of-factly, shaking his head and smiling.

"You're just noticing that now George?" Jess asked with a snort. "Well, now that we have explained everything to you, I'm going to go start patrolling the hallways. Have fun boys." She winked and walked out the door.

Laughing excitedly, the boys hi-fived each other. Shaking her head and laughing Mackenzie, walked out of the bathroom and quickly placed the silencing charm around the room.

She had been there for half an hour now and there were no warnings from Jess, so this plan seemed to be working out well. This was only the beginning of their plans.

She was just about to walk in and check out what they were doing when the door flung open and the boys came out laughing hysterically. "Fred, considering it's April Fools Day, the teachers won't know who did this. If you walk around carrying a toilet seat, though, they are going to know for sure that it was you." She chuckled.

"I'm not keeping it Zee, I'm sending it to my sister Ginny," he stated simply.

Mackenzie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, wondering why in the name of Merlin's pants he would send his sister a toilet seat. Being around Fred and George for so long, she learned to just go with it and not question them.

"That was so much fun Kenzie, you and Jess are the best!" George yelled.

"Shh!" Laughing at how loud they were being, she sent a message to Jess using the necklace to let her know that they were finished. "Okay I just sent a message to Jess. She should be here any minute."

"Thanks, for the awesome gift Zee," Fred said.

Mackenzie smiled knowingly at them. "You're welcome, but it's not over yet."

"Oh yeah? What do you have in store for us next?"

At that moment Jess rounded the corner. "How was that guys? Have fun?"

"Sure did, you and Zee are awesome," Fred said winking at Jess and causing her to blush. Maybe Mackenzie wouldn't have to worry about Fred getting his heart broken if Jess was blushing this much around him.

"Come on you two, follow us. Our next stop is Filch's office."

Their eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas day.

As they were walking back to the Gryffindor Common Room Fred and George were showing the girls the map that they had found in Filch's office.

"It's amazing!" said Fred

"Most definitely." Continued George

"Best thing I've ever seen."

"There's seven secret passages throughout Hogwarts. _Seven_!" exclaimed George. "This will definitely come in handy throughout our time at Hogwarts. Imagine all the mischief we could get up to with this."

"Well I'm glad you found it, but it's late and I'm exhausted so I need to sleep. We'll see you guys tomorrow," Jess said as Mackenzie and herself started walking away.

"Wait!" the boys shouted.

The girls stopped and turned around to face them and the boys ran up and kissed the girls on their cheeks, causing them to blush brilliantly. "Thanks for the awesome birthday."

"Yes we are just _flushing_ with happiness."

"Fred that was the worst joke I've ever heard," Mackenzie said as the girls practically danced back to the Hufflepuff Common Room, still feeling the tingles that the kiss left on their cheeks.


	21. Deja Boo

**It has been so long since I updated :O I feel mean haha. I had a huge case of writers block I just couldn't get the chapter right, I'm still not completely happy with it but I hope you like it anyway, and I also had Uni exams. I know it might seem like nothing is happening but there will be more drama in the story soon, it's only half way finished. As always I love to read your reviews :) I think this is the longest chapter I've written just over 4,000 words. Enjoy!**

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><p>Birthdays are supposed to be a happy day. The one day that is dedicated to you, to celebrate your life. Gifts, attention, family; these are the things that come along with birthdays.<p>

Mackenzie hadn't really enjoyed her birthday for a while now. Her parents would always have to work. She knew it wasn't their fault; Aurors were in high demand at that time so Mackenzie understood. They always made up for it in the end anyway.

She was homeschooled before she attended Hogwarts, so she didn't have any friends to celebrate it with. Adrian would always be at Hogwarts on her birthday and she would be stuck with the old babysitter who always smelled like cabbage.

This birthday would be different though. She still wouldn't get to celebrate it with either of her parents, but she would be with her brother, her new best friends, and there would be no cabbage-smelling babysitter.

She had woken up to see that Jessica was already gone, which was strange because she would always wait and walk with Fred and George. She quickly got ready and walked through to the Common Room, expecting to see her best friends waiting for her, but she was met with an empty room.

Shrugging, she walked out of the portrait and practically skipped to the Great Hall. Looking towards the Gryffindor table, she searched for her friends. Seeing that they weren't there she looked at the Hufflepuff table and saw them sitting at the front of the table laughing and talking together.

She walked towards them with a spring in her step and a wide smile on her face.

George looked up and smiled at her "Hey Kenzie! How are you?"

She sat down and sighed. "I'm doing great, absolutely great."

They all frowned at her and Mackenzie looked at them in confusion. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"What has you so happy today?" Jessica asked, placing a spoonful of eggs into her mouth.

Mackenzie's heart sunk. Did they forget what day it is today? Did they know but just not care? "Why wouldn't I be happy today?"

"Why would you be? Nothing special is happening today. I mean we have a full day of classes and it's Monday; worst day of the week."

So they really had forgotten. Mackenzie couldn't believe it. It was just like it used to be, with no one to celebrate her birthday with. She thought that being her best friends they would have at least remembered.

She was taken back to previous years; sitting in cabbage lady's kitchen eating a stale cake alone, and in the later years with her sister. Her day just went from good to bad.

Noticing that she had become saddened they all looked at each other.

"What's wrong Zee? You were fine one minute now you're looking all sad and stuff."

Blinking back the tears she cleared her throat and gave them her most convincing smile. "U-Um no-nothing's wrong." She nodded her head towards her brother sitting at the Gryffindor table. "I'm just going to go talk to Adrian."

She stood up and quickly walked away before they saw the tears run down her face.

What she didn't see was the guilty but knowing look that her friends gave each other. They felt bad. They didn't want to see her upset, but it would all be worth it later.

Mackenzie stopped at the end of the Gryffindor table to get rid of any evidence that she had been crying. Taking a deep breath, she put a smile on her face and held her head high.

She became suspicious when she noticed that Adrian had his hand on that girl Savannah's lower back. Such a simple gesture but it seemed intimate. Friends do that right? Maybe he was just comforting her.

There was an empty seat right next to Adrian so she plopped herself down on to the wooden bench, startling Adrian in the process. "Hey Ade!"

"Oh hey little sister, how are you?"

Not wanting to tell him that her friends had forgotten her birthday she said, "I'm really great." She starting picking grapes off of her brothers plate as he put a finger to his chin and had his thinking face on.

"Now, I have a feeling that I was supposed to remember something today."

Mackenzie's breath caught in her throat and she choked on the grape in her mouth. Had he forgotten as well? She didn't think she'd be able to handle it if her own brother forgot her birthday.

A look of realisation crossed Adrian's face. "Ah that's right! It's your birthday today."

Mackenzie sighed in relief and smiled, glad that he remembered. She knew that he wouldn't let her down.

"Happy birthday Kenzie!" he shouted a bit too loudly. The Gryffindors that were sitting close to them turned their heads and Mackenzie blushed in embarrassment.

"Thanks Ade, but did you have to say it so loud? Everyone's staring now."

Adrian looked around the table and smiled. "Oh don't worry about them."

They all started wishing her a happy birthday, which Mackenzie felt was a bittersweet moment. How is it that people she doesn't even know wish her a happy birthday but her own best friends don't even remember?

The girl named Savannah interrupted her thoughts by leaning around Adrian and speaking to her. "Happy Birthday Mackenzie. Your brother has been going on about your birthday for weeks now. He wouldn't shut up about it," she laughed.

Mackenzie was still a bit annoyed about the whole secret thing, but it wasn't really her fault so Mackenzie thought it was time to forget about it. She couldn't deny that Savannah was a beautiful girl. She had long straight hair that was blue, nice golden coloured skin and stunning green eyes, similar to her own.

"Um, thanks. Sorry if I sound rude right now but, why in the name of Merlins pants is your hair blue?"

Adrian and Savannah laughed at her and seeing her disgruntled look they stopped and Savannah answered her. "I'm a Metamorphmagus. I can change anything about my appearance, watch this."

Mackenzie watched intently as her hair changed from blue to a bright pink.

"That's bloody brilliant", she said with wide eyes. She stood up and squeezed herself in between her brother and Savannah. "Can you do it again?"

Laughing at Mackenzie's actions, Savannah said, "Sure, choose a colour."

"Hmm, how about green?" She watched in amazement as her hair changed to nearly the exact same shade of aqua green as her eyes. "How do you do that?"

As Savannah continued to explain the facts and specifics of being a Metamorphmagus, Adrian looked at the two fondly. It was great seeing them interacting so well together. Maybe everything he feared would work out in the end.

Classes and learning was always something that Mackenzie loved. It was something she had always been something she was good at.

Today she was more eager for classes than ever. Not only because she loved learning, but because the lessons would provide her with a distraction from the horrible birthday she was having so far.

The first two lessons of the day had gone well so she was in a good mood as she walked towards the History of Magic classroom. For the first time since breakfast she had a smile on her face. It was immediately replaced with a frown as she walked into the classroom.

Her three best friends were already in the room and sitting at their desks. Mackenzie wasn't shocked by the fact that Jess was already there, she had decided to stay behind in the previous lesson and speak to the professor whereas Jess came straight here.

What really shocked her was the fact that they hadn't saved a seat for her. Fred and Jess were sitting next to each other at the two desks second from the front, and George was sitting in the desk behind them. Sitting next to him was none other than Angelina Johnson.

They were all engaged in excited conversation. Mackenzie couldn't help but feel rejected. First they had forgotten her birthday and now they hadn't even thought to save her a seat with them.

Pulling her eyes away from them, she searched the room for a free seat. The only available one was next to Alicia Spinnet at the front of the classroom.

Walking past the desks that were occupied by her friends, she heard them greet her but she ignored them and tried to hide the hurt she was feeling. She would not give them the satisfaction. If they wanted to treat her this way then she would treat them the same way, no matter how much she hated it.

She had never really spoken to Alicia. Maybe once or twice before so she still somewhat shyly approached her. Tapping her shoulder, she spoke in a small voice. "Hey Alicia, do you mind if I sit here?"

"Oh hello Mackenzie," she smiled kindly and indicated to the seat next to her.

Mackenzie sighed in relief and smiled back, placing her bag on the floor. "Thanks Alicia."

Professor Binns floated through the wall, and began giving the students instructions for this lesson. He gave them a list of questions to answer about the founders of Hogwarts.

Mackenzie furiously scribbled her answers on the piece of parchment in front of her, trying to concentrate on the work instead of the hurt.

With her determination to keep distracted, she finished her work before everyone else. She was glad that Alicia started talking to her, not giving her enough time to ponder her thoughts.

"I hear it's your birthday today," she stated as she continued working.

'Another person besides my so called best friends that knows it's my birthday', Mackenzie thought to herself. "Um, yeah it is; you probably heard my brother yell it at breakfast this morning huh?"

Alicia laughed at her question, "Yes I did hear him. I think the whole Gryffindor table did."

Mackenzie's face flushed with embarrassment once again. Although it wasn't the people she wished it were, it made her happy that other people had wished her a happy birthday.

From the few times that she had spoken to her, Mackenzie knew that Alicia loved Quidditch. So to keep the conversation going she decided to bring it up.

"Are you going to be trying out for Quidditch next year?"

"Yes I'm going to be trying out for a chaser position," she nodded. "What about you? Fred and George told me about what Madam Hooch said after our first flying class."

Mackenzie tensed up at Fred and George's names. She didn't hate them, she never could, but she couldn't help but feel let down by them and so their names only brought forward the hurt.

Alicia frowned at Mackenzie's reaction and secretly wondered what was going on.

"Y-Yeah I think I will; for a chaser position as well. It's a shame we won't be on the same team if we make it." Mackenzie thought it truly was a shame. She would have loved to be on the same team.

Their conversation was interrupted when Professor Binns gave them their homework assignment for the next two weeks.

"Now, for your homework I would like you to write me an essay on the founder of your house. Include anything and everything you can find and fit onto two rolls of parchment." At this piece of information the whole class groaned.

"Now, I know this is a longer essay than I usually ask of you but this essay requires a lot of information." Looking sternly at the class he added, "And I expect at least an acceptable on every essay. Thank you, you are dismissed."

At his last words Mackenzie packed up her things and said a rushed goodbye to Alicia before hurrying out of the classroom to avoid her friends, who were calling her name.

Mackenzie hated herself for it, but instead of going to lunch she ran straight to the girl's bathroom.

She had promised herself that she wouldn't let this get to her, but she couldn't help it. It hurt so much knowing that her friends didn't remember her birthday.

It never really bothered her before, not having anyone to celebrate with. She guessed now that she actually had friends it bothered her more than she thought it would. She was getting her first taste of loneliness and she didn't like it at all.

She sat down on the cold floor with her arms wrapped around her legs, resting her head on her knees. Hearing a wailing sound she lifted her head, and saw Moaning Myrtle floating in front of her.

"Oh s-sorry Myrtle, I didn't mean to intrude," she sniffled.

Myrtle stopped whining long enough to speak. "Oh it's alright I suppose. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who cries in here all the time."

At that statement Mackenzie felt anger bubble up inside her. "I do not cry in here all the time," she snapped. She was the kind of person who hid her feelings as much as possible and hearing someone say she cried all the time caused her to become defensive.

"Oh but I remember you coming in here a few times. Mumbling about someone named Parkes."

Mackenzie groaned at the memory of the times she had come running in here because of Parkes. He still wasn't leaving her alone, but he hadn't done anything too serious recently. "So I guess this is a bit of déjà boo for the both of us today huh?" she said joking.

Catching on to the joke Myrtle burst out into her cackling laughter. "'Deja boo' I'm a ghost I get it. I like you; you're more than welcome to share my toilet any time."

"Thanks Myrtle," Mackenzie said, laughing and wiping away her tears.

"So what brings you into my bathroom today? Is it that awful boy?" she asked.

Mackenzie went on to tell her the story of how her friends had forgotten her birthday. Before she knew it the bell was ringing for the end of lunch and the beginning of the next class.

"Well, I'll see you next time Myrtle." Picking up her bag she got rid of all evidence of her crying. She had cried some more while she was telling the story, but she felt comfortable showing her emotions around Myrtle.

Classes for the rest of the day went by quickly. She only had one other class with the Gryffindor's, which she was happy about. It made it easier for her to focus on the work when she didn't have her best friends in the room ignoring her.

She sat with Jess for the rest of her classes but there was still no mention of her birthday. As the day went on, the hurt grew stronger.

Classes were a good distraction for her, and for once she was glad that she had received a lot of homework. Now she would have something to occupy her time after the school day was over.

She was exhausted by the time her last class was finished. She packed her stuff up slowly and stood up, placing her back strap over her shoulder. She wasn't shocked when Jess spoke, but it still startled her.

"Mackenzie?" she called.

She couldn't help but feel hope build up in the pit of her stomach. Maybe Jess had remembered but just hadn't said anything until now. Her hope was crushed at the next words that came out of Jess' mouth.

"I'm going to go to the Common Room. Are you coming too?"

Mackenzie didn't really want to be with anyone right now. She needed to be alone, in case her emotions got the better of her. She didn't want to appear weak or petty.

"Um, no I'm going to the library for a while. A lot of homework you know," she said trying her best to smile.

Mackenzie started to walk out of the classroom with Jessica walking beside her. The girls talked about little things but Mackenzie wasn't really in to the conversation; giving her input only when needed.

When they got to the library Jess said goodbye and watched as her best friend walked inside and sat at a desk, looking deflated. She felt like a horrible friend right now but it would be okay in the end.

The library was Mackenzie's sanctuary. Here it was quiet, she wasn't bothered by anyone and it was familiar.

In here she could escape her world and enter another. It was a world where she didn't have to worry about being bullied or be upset over friends forgetting birthdays.

She could read about someone else's problems instead of worrying about her own. As horrible as it sounded, she was glad she wasn't the only one having problems; even if it wasn't real.

Mackenzie could sit in the library for days, comforted by the musky smell of old books, the fresh smell of new books and the sound of scratching as quills moved furiously across a piece of parchment.

The Gryffindor's were sitting together in tight groups having a discussion. The Ravenclaw's were walking out with huge stacks of books. Some Slytherin's were trying to get into the restricted section. Her fellow Hufflepuff's were completing their homework vigorously, reading up on fairy tales and asking anyone if they needed help. These were things she loved to see.

She was immersed into an old wizarding fairy tale when everything around her went black. She started freaking out thinking that she went suddenly blind or someone has cursed her from around a corner.

She frantically lifted her hands and brought them up to her eyes. Bringing her fingers towards her face she felt the silky smooth material of a blindfold. Relief filled her for a quick second as she realised that she wasn't blind and wasn't cursed.

The relief quickly disappeared as she panicked over who had blindfolded her in the first place.

She moved her hands to the back of her head and tried desperately to remove the blindfold. It must have been charmed so it wouldn't come off because it would not budge.

She jumped and yelped as another pair of hands grabbed her own and someone's breath came into contact with the side of her face as they whispered into her ear. "Shh, just come with me."

The whisper was so low that she couldn't recognise who it was. She started hyperventilating, thinking that it could be Parkes and he was going to take her somewhere and hurt her.

The stranger started to pull her up out of her chair. She tried to resist at first, but then thought better of it. If this was Parkes, then resisting would only make things worse for her. She had her wand inside her cloak if she needed it, so she allowed the person to guide her out of the chair into a standing position.

She tried not to let her fear show in her voice, but it still came out shaky, "Wh-what about my stuff." She knew that her things should be the least of her worries right now. Someone had just blindfolded her, but she had valuable things in there.

The unknown person didn't say anything but she heard the scuffling of paper as they packed her up her things. She felt the weight of her bag as the strap was placed over her shoulder. She didn't know why, but having something familiar close to her made her feel safer than she did before.

Without saying another word the stranger took hold of her elbow and guided her out. She knew they were out of the library because the familiar and comforting sounds and smells had disappeared.

She tried to keep track of where they were going but they turned so many corners that she just couldn't keep up.

Mackenzie felt the shock of the cold wind as it hit her face. She knew there were stairs and she was wondering how they expected her to continue if she couldn't see where she was going.

What she had not been expecting was to be picked up and flung over the persons shoulder. She screamed and frantically started hitting and punching the back of the person carrying her.

"Put me down this instant!" she yelled at them. Each step the person took caused their shoulder to be pushed lightly into her stomach, making her even more uncomfortable than she already was.

The panic started to rise even further as she realised the possibilities of where she was being taken. They could be taking her to the forbidden forest, where they would attack her and leave her with the dangerous creatures, alone and no one would know where to find her. They could be taking her to the black lake where they would drown her or the merpeople could attack her.

Her frantic thoughts were interrupted when she was placed back down on the ground and spun around so the stranger was standing behind her.

She took deep shaky breaths and moved her head around even though she couldn't see. She could smell grass and water around her. Great, she was taken to the lake, so she would be drowned and attacked by merpeople. 'What a lovely way to die' she thought.

Tears started filling her covered eyes and she willed them to go away. She would not appear weak right now; she would not show that she was afraid.

The blindfold slipped away but Mackenzie closed her eyes, not wanting to face what was in store for her just yet.

"Mackenzie, open your eyes," she heard a familiar voice say.

"Jess?" she asked. She opened her eyes and blinked away the tears that hadn't escaped.

"Surprise!"

She blinked furiously and when her vision cleared she saw Fred and Jess standing there with a picnic set up at their feet. She was right, she did get taken to the lake, but it was not to die.

"Do you like it?" someone asked from behind her.

Spinning around, she came face to face with George. She felt annoyance build up in the pit of her stomach as she realised it was he who blindfolded her.

"You are the one that blindfolded me?" she asked in a sharp tone.

George stepped back. "Well yeah, of course it was me," he said matter-of-factly.

"You scared the hell out of me George, I thought I was going to be tortured and killed!" she yelled. "You couldn't have asked me to come down here like a normal person?"

George looked at her like she had gone insane. "Of course not, what fun would that have been."

She frowned at him and turned to her other friends. She looked at the picnic. "What's this for?" she asked them.

Fred and Jess looked at each other curiously. "Well for your birthday of course. Why else would we have done it?"

Her heart skipped a beat as she realised that they didn't forget her birthday after all. "But I thought you guys forgot. You haven't said anything all day."

George stepped in front of her with a huge grin on his face. "That's what we wanted you to think; did you actually think we would forget our best friend's birthday?"

Not caring that she was supposed to be mad at him for blindfolding and scaring her, she tackled him to the ground in a hug.

She lay there on top of him laughing until Fred and Jess starting laughing and clearing their throats.

Flushing a deep crimson Mackenzie rolled off of him and starting going through the things they brought for the picnic.

As they sat there and ate the food, and talked about everything Mackenzie couldn't help but smile. She had the best friends in the world.

"I guess the Deja Boo has gone," she mumbled.

"Deja what?" Jess asked.

Laughing Mackenzie said, "Don't worry, I'll explain later."


End file.
